


Of the Woods

by Dream_edge



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, BAMF!Stiles, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Eventual Team Human, Everyone Is Alive, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I wish I could say that this is all fun and games, If a little mentally scarred, Magic!Stiles, Not Season 3 Compliant, but its not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2017-12-13 08:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 57,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/822106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dream_edge/pseuds/Dream_edge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Friday, Derek kicked him out of the Pack. </p>
<p>On Saturday, he realized he was alone.</p>
<p>On Sunday, he was numb.</p>
<p>On Monday, he got angry. On Monday, he found magic.</p>
<p>--<br/>After being kicked out of the Pack, Stiles finds a strange magic shop that sells wishes. Feeling alone and weak, Stiles makes a wish to become stronger, so that no one will have to save him again. He gets magic but as payment he must go through the trials of collecting 53 magic Cards before they destroy the town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Contract Made

On Friday, Derek kicked him out of the Pack.

Stiles wanted to say he took it well, managed to keep himself calm and convince Derek he didn't care. He hadn't. After the denial had fled, the rage had settled in. He'd spent a good fifteen minutes screaming at Derek about how much he'd done for the Pack, about how much he'd earned his place. Derek hadn't reacted to any of it, remaining stone-faced and occasionally repeating, "You're not in the Pack." when he appeared to deem it necessary. When the rage was gone, Stiles begged.

And Derek, the bastard, the stupid fuck Stiles had let himself trust, had looked him in the eye and told him, "The Pack doesn't need Scott's pathetic human pet yapping at their heels. Now. Get. Out."

"Fine." Stiles had said after a moment of silence, his mind wheeling. Because no, no, Derek wouldn't say that. Not Derek; Derek, who had been there when Kali had called him _'the Pack's mascot'_ , who had stitched him up after and seen the true depths of his insecurity. Derek, who would understand there wasn't a greater way to hurt him. Stiles walked away.

The shock got him out to the car. It got him half-way home before his hands started shaking too badly for him to drive. He pulled over, struggled to breathe. Ended up climbing into the backseat to cry. His only consolation had been that they'd been alone; Derek had at least saved him that humiliation. He didn't keep track of time while he huddled under his hoodie (the red one, of course it was the red one, the one Erica had gotten him while he recovered from his fight with Kali). By the time there was a knock on his window, the sky was purple-blue and his tears had dried off, leaving him to stare emptily in front of him. He climbed the backdoor, not sure who he was expecting, Scott or Erica perhaps, maybe even Derek about to apologize for being unnecessarily cruel. It wasn't. Deputy Anderson was looking at him in concern. "Stiles? You okay?"

He nodded, never mind that it was a painfully obvious lie. "School problems." He said curtly, gathered his shredded bravado, and forced himself get behind the wheel and drive home. He collapsed into bed when he got there and let the emotional exhaustion drag him to sleep with no mind of the early hour. He slept fitfully.

On Saturday, he realized he was alone.

He woke up feeling exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all. He spent a long time staring around the room, rolling Derek's words around his head. Alright, so he wasn't in the Pack anymore. He took a deep breath, fighting past the nausea, the sick-cold-wrong feeling when he thought about being the Pack's 'pet'. This wasn't the end of everything; it couldn't be. So, he wouldn't be participating in Pack activities; that wasn't a big loss, he wasn't able to do much during the meetings as a human anyways. But he would still be able to talk with the others, right, at school? He had to. Everyone he knew was in the Pack. The only person he could think of that wasn't was Lydia, who had stepped back from all things supernatural after the mess with Aiden.

He scrambled off his bed, diving for the hoodie he'd thrown in the corner last night, searching for his phone. Collapsing onto the floor once he had it, he listened to it ring and prayed that for once Scott would answer his phone.

After a few rings, Scott blessedly did answer, sounding slightly distracted. "Hello?"

"Scott! Listen, we need to talk. Derek said-"

"Stiles?" Scott asked. He was quiet and normally Stiles would ignore it, talk right over him. Except, Scott sounded tense, as if he was just realizing who was on the other end. Like he didn't want to talk now that he knew it was Stiles.

Stiles hesitated, gulped down the returning feeling of cold-wrong, _pleasenonotthis_ , and prompted, "Scott?"

His answer was the dial tone.

Stiles stared at his phone in shock for a long time before redialing. However, apparently this time Scott was paying attention to his caller id because he didn't pick up again. Stiles tried to breathe as he scrolled to the next Pack member in his contacts. No answer; not from Isaac, or from Erica, or even Boyd. Not even Allison, who associated more as hunter than Pack these days, picked up. He considered calling Peter.

He considered calling fucking Peter.

He took a deep breathe before he could throw his phone against the wall. He had to talk to Derek, had to know how much he was losing along with his Pack membership. But the thought of facing Derek, after yesterday, made him want to throw up. So he called Derek. Listened to it ring and ring. Kept calling until Derek picked up.

"What?" Derek snapped. He sounded even more pissed off then usual.

"No one is answering me." Stiles said, his voice tight. He hoped it didn't sound half as destroyed as he thought it did.

"You're not in the Pack anymore."

"So I'm not allowed to even talk to them?! Derek, all my friends are in your damn Pack!"

There was a long moment of silence from Derek. Stiles held his breath, praying. _Please, please, take it back. Take me back. I don't care, I'll do anything, I'll be the Pack's fucking pet if I have to. Just don't push me out._

"You'll make new ones." Derek said, his voice odd, tighter, thinner. Then he hung up.

Stiles did throw up.

On Sunday, he was numb.

It was nice, for a while. Better than the jumble of emotions he'd been dealing with. Better than the anger, the desolation, the shaky sick feeling of the ground being pulled out from under him. Better than the desperate, degrading urge to please, even if it meant having to be the mascot, the pet. The complete humiliation of having so little worth that he'd be willing to do it.

He spent most of the day in bed, gazing dully around. Tried occasionally to reach for that anger, or even the shattered feeling. Couldn't find it. Couldn't find the energy to be concerned about it. He tried, briefly, to get out of bed. He knew he had homework he had to be doing. Yet when he started to get up, he remembered he'd made plans to get together with the Pack and do it together on Saturday.

Which just made him remember Scott's face when Stiles had suggested it; how hesitant Scott had been, how unsure his smile was. The things Stiles hadn't really noticed at the time. Which just made him realize how the Pack had been pulling away from him for weeks, ever since the territory had stabilized. Been less likely to invite him along for group activities, or talk to him, call him for random things. He hadn't noticed it, or otherwise ignored it. They'd been pushing him out for nearly a month and Stiles had been stubbornly ignoring it until Derek had thrown it in his face in the cruelest way the man could think of. The asshole.

"Stiles?"

Stiles raised his head and found his dad watching him from the doorway. "You okay, son?"

No. No, he wasn't. He'd done everything, given those fuckers anything they asked for and it hadn't been enough. It was never good enough. Not even to be their pet. "Fine." 

"Its just... Anderson said he found you pulled over on Friday and you haven't left your room since then."

"Just teenage drama." he answered. Tried to, but was aware his voice was a mess from crying; from the yelling he'd done when his father was at work yesterday.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. Just want to sulk for a bit."

On Monday, the anger came back.

Not at first of course. For a while, he just laid in bed, staring blindly ahead and wondering how much trouble he'd get in if he decided to just not go to school for a week. Except if he stayed home, the whole Pack would know how badly he'd taken being kicked out. The first sweep of anger nudged through the shield of numb. It was bad enough Derek knew, had seen him beg. He was not going to let the rest of them see him fall apart because of this.

He forced himself up, despite the sluggishness he couldn't shake, the creeping cold. Made himself leave, though it felt like it took all his energy.

He and Scott had their lockers right next to each other, had ever since they'd first rented lockers. Scott was leaning against his own locker, chatting animatedly with Isaac. More of the numbness slipped away, more of the anger came back. He wanted to punch them both in the face. He pulled his backpack higher up and stalked towards his locker, hoping his irritation was clear for everyone to see. Scott glanced over to him and his smile froze on his face. Scott watched him approach for a long moment then turned slowly, pointedly away, so his back was towards Stiles' locker. Isaac did the same.

Before, even when they'd been drawing away, they'd help Stiles shuffle his textbooks, made sure nothing went flying all over the hall while he figured out what he needed that day. Even if they never said a word to him, focused everywhere but his face, they'd still helped. When Stiles opened his locker, they walked away. Stiles forced himself to take a deep breath, not sure if he was choking down anger or despair at the moment, they were too closely intertwined.

The day did not get better. The Pack spent most of the day running in the other direction every time they saw him while Stiles pretended like it wasn't bothering him. Most of his teachers ignored him or asked if he was alright, so apparently, despite Stiles trying to pretend he wasn't bothered, he still looked like shit. At lunch, he took his food, looked at where the Pack was sitting, how Boyd had taken the spot Stiles preferred, between Scott and Erica, and ran away as subtly as possible. He hid in an empty classroom for the whole of lunch.

After lunch, he had AP Bio, with Harris. He could have been in AP Chem with Lydia, but no, he'd chosen Bio so he could be with the Pack, so they'd be able to help each other with the work. Isaac was in his seat, next to Scott, which was salt on a wound. Isaac, who Stiles had just fought through an irrational hatred of for stealing his best friend, was in his seat. The minute Isaac saw him, saw whatever shattered expression he was wearing, Isaac dropped his head and looked like nothing more than a dog with its tail between its legs. Stiles shuffled to the back of the classroom, to the only unclaimed table, and refused to look at them. His chest was tight and his eyes burned but this time he wasn't choking down tears. He was trying not to scream.

He walked slowly to lacrosse practice. He was still on the bench, despite his performance last year, probably due to the fact that there was a stupid number of werewolves on the team these days. He hadn't minded; Erica usually joined him, cheering Boyd on and keeping him occupied, and sometimes the others would join them for a few minutes. Stiles was mentally erasing that company and coming up with zero reasons to stay on the team. The only reason he had was on the team at all was to hang out with his friends. It always had been; he'd only joined freshman year to keep an eye on Scott's asthma, since the guy had been determined to join the team. Coach probably wouldn't argue that much if he quit considering he was on the bench, Stiles thought, pulling on his jersey.

He was the last to exit the locker room, not quite looking where he was going as he thought. So he nearly tumbled to his knees when Danny ran up and slapped him on the shoulder. "Keep up Stilinski!" he called, walking backwards towards the field, smile firmly in place as he watched Stiles. Stiles stared at him, aware he probably looked a little dumb. Danny was the first person to talk to him all day with the Pack ignoring him.

Danny's smile faltered slightly. "Come on, Stiles." he said, quieter now, looking seriously concerned. "You being quiet makes me worried. What's going on?" 

Stiles couldn't help but flick his eyes towards where Scott and Isaac were standing. Found them already watching him and Danny. Because of course they were eavesdropping. Stiles pressed his lips together tightly, ground his teeth. The anger finally flared fully into rage. He looked back at Danny and smiled thinly. "Just great, Danny." he said and marched towards the field.

Scott was placed in the goal for practice, though Stiles didn't hear why. Still, Stiles waited in line as the team took shots at the goal, shuffling impatiently from foot to foot, watching Scott catch each shot without much effort. Then it was his turn and for the first time since Friday, Scott looked him in the eye. For a minute, Scott wore his classic puppy-dog expression, something like an apology in his eyes, before his expression smoothed out. He tilted his head to bare his throat. Surrender.

Stiles grinned at Scott, all teeth, and threw the ball as hard as he could. Scott's head snapped back when the ball connected with his helmet and the force actually pushed him back a step. "Wow." he wondered to himself as Scott shook off the hit, voice pitched so the werewolves would hear. "My aim really has improved."

Scott shot him the puppy-dog look again. Then he sighed and nodded, as if accepting the hit as punishment. Stiles grinned sharply again and headed for the end of the line. Danny raised an eyebrow at him. "Everything's just great? Really?"

He shrugged briefly and kept walking.

He kept hitting Scott. Later during practice, he kept tackling Isaac, even though Isaac was technically on his side. Neither hit back; they barely acknowledged him more than lacrosse made them. As good as hurting them made him feel, he almost wished they'd hit him back. He marched up to them after practice and slammed Scott's locker closed. "Say it." he hissed.

Scott looked shocked. "Stiles? What are you-?"

"I want to hear you say it." he interrupted. "Tell me I'm out of the Pack."

Scott looked down, lips pressed defiantly together. "I thought..." Isaac said quietly, glancing around furtively, looking for a way out. "I thought Derek had already talked to you about it."

"When have I ever given a shit about what Derek thinks?" Lies. Lies, all of it. He'd cared about what Derek thought; he'd trusted Derek, respected his opinion, wanted the man to think well of him. "I want to hear it from you."

Needed to hear it. Needed to have that connection broken fully, in a way the Pack's silence wouldn't. 

"I... well, that's..." Isaac hesitated, biting his lip and refusing to look at him.

"You're not in the Pack." Scott said suddenly, voice strong and clear. Isaac looked over at him, looking as shocked as Stiles felt. Scott's eyes were stern. "What Derek said, it's true. You're not in the Pack."

_"-Scott's pathetic human pet yapping at their heels."_

"What Derek said, it's true-"

"Alright." He said, aware his voice came out tight. "I'll leave you all alone."

He didn't run, refused to run. Nevertheless, when he left, it still felt like he fleeing. He walked very quickly towards his Jeep, focusing on breathing. He wasn't paying attention when he peeled out of the school. He counted his breaths, trying not to have another meltdown in his car.

_"How cute, the mascot is here."_ Kali's words. They'd been meant to hurt him and they'd worked. He'd spent weeks chasing them from his mind, trying to hide the insecurity they brought out, the shame. Shame that he needed others to defend him, that when Erica and Boyd were being tortured he hadn't been able to do more than lay there, that he was about as useful as a 'mascot'. He'd hidden it beneath anger, beneath irritation that he was going to have to hide a new scar. 

Funny how now, her words seemed almost kind. 

He hated it. Wanted nothing more than to be stronger and prove her wrong. 

He was on the road out of town by the time he started paying attention to more than his inner monologue. He pulled over and leaned his head against the steering wheel. When he finally lifted his head, he found an odd looking building on the side of the road. It was surrounded by a high wooden wall, with a simple gate that he could see through. The building itself was quite large and had a distinct Asian architecture.  
He got out of his Jeep, curious, sure he'd never seen the building before, and approached. He leaned over the small gate and looked around. There was an expansive yard, complete with another separate building off to the side. He placed a hand against the fence to steady himself; once his hand was on the wood, an odd jolt shot through his body and his legs marched him forward, completely without his consent. "H-Hey! Stop that!" he shouted down at his feet, pinwheeling his arms in an effort to overbalance himself. It didn't work.

Because of course, of course, the fence was magic. Of course he'd managed to find a hide out of witches or something and fall into a weird trap that pulled him straight towards the enemy, defenseless. And of course he did it after he was kicked out of the Pack, when no one would be looking for him.

Before he realized it, he was on the porch and through the front door. Whatever power had taken control of his legs vanished and he collapsed in a heep in the foyer. He looked up in confusion. The foyer was well-lit and warm-colored, which was a bit reassuring. It wasn't nearly the evil dungeon he'd been envisioning before he tumbled through the doors. "Um, hello? Sorry for barging in but uh... I think there might have been magic involved? Christ, what is this place?"

"It's a shop." A male voice called back to him. Stiles jerked around, found a young man turning the corner into the hall. The man was well-dressed, dress pants and a shirt, complete with fancy vest. He was wearing thin, black-rimmed glasses. Behind them, Stiles could see his eyes were dual-colored, one blue, one a shade of brown-gold not unlike his own. Not quite the evil witch he'd been imagining, but for once Stiles was going to take what he could get when it came to supernatural stuff. "I apologize for the fence." The man continued, smiling kindly. "That magic can be... over-enthusiastic."

"That's not the word I'd use." Stiles hedged, eying the man up and down. Nothing was screaming rapid serial-killer, but he knew Peter so... "Kidnapping, maybe. I... did you say shop? You're a little far from the commercial district."

The man's smile widened, but it still wasn't scary. "Those who require my services will find me. Even if they're not aware they're looking for me." The man held out a hand and helped him to his feet before stepping back and bowing slightly at the waist. "I am Watanuki Kimihiro. I own this shop."

"Right. Um, what do you sell?" Stiles asked, taking several steps back and trying not to look as nervous as he felt.

"Wishes." Watanuki said and for a moment Stiles felt power rise around him, like he was standing above a deep lake and he couldn't imagine what was at the bottom of it. It wasn't... scary or oppressive, wasn't anything that triggered Stiles' rather active fight-or-flight response. It was just rather strange, like the feeling he sometimes got around Dr Deaton. Ancient, Stiles' mind finally supplied. This power felt old.

Then Watanuki's smile returned full-force, showing off the deep lines around his eyes, and the power dropped away. "Please, come in." Watanuki urged and motioned for Stiles to follow him. You would think that after all this time, Stiles' trained caution would be enough to temper his curiosity.

It wasn't.

Stiles followed, drawn as much by that weird power he'd felt briefly as by his own curiosity. They ended up in a formal sitting room and he was motioned to sit down at a small table in front of the bay windows. There were full cups of tea already waiting for them, steaming slightly. Stiles hesitated. "Were you expecting someone?"

"Yes." Watanuki said, taking his seat without hesitation. "And you've arrived." Stiles wasn't sure what expression was on his face for that, but it made Watanuki chuckle. "Don't look so concerned. I have been doing this for a long time; I've learned to anticipate my customers."

"Who says I'm a customer?" Stiles asked but he took a seat anyway. He didn't touch the fine china waiting in front of him though, even when Watanuki gave him an amused look.

"If you did not need the shop, you would not see the shop." Watanuki said. "It's protected by powerful magics. The little amount you possess would not be enough to see past it." 

"I don't have magic." Stiles said, thrown, because of course that was the only part he'd gotten from that. Watanuki gave him another amused look, one eyebrow arching over the rim of his glasses. "I don't."

"No? No extra awareness? No insane bits of luck? Nothing conjured?"

No. No, not really. Just... just that time with Matt, when he'd suddenly noticed the weird kid with the camera and gotten a feeling of wrongness from him. Yeah, he'd been the only one with that feeling, and yeah, he'd noticed around the time Matt would have first ordered Jackson to kill someone. And there was the mountain ash. The extra fifty feet of mountain ash that shouldn't have technically existed. "I... you're a weird Hagrid." he said eventually, making Watanuki laugh.

Watanuki pulled out a long, ornate metal pipe and looked at him curiously. "Do you mind? I accidentally picked up the habit from the last shop owner." 

Stiles shook his head, watching as Watanuki lit it with a sharp motion of his hand and another, weaker flair of that old power. "You said... you sell wishes?" he asked, waiting for Watanuki's nod. "Something tells me I don't pay in cash."

Watanuki smiled but it was... different this time. He seemed older now, old enough to match the power pouring freely from him in waves. When he breathed out the smoke, it hung heavy between them, creating an atmosphere that felt detached from the rest of the world. "What people wish for can rarely be judged in monetary value. Why should the price be decided as such? The price is usually an item with strong sentimental value. Sometimes it's a memory or emotion, but rarely. Now then, what's your wish?"

"I want to be stronger." He said.

Watanuki eyed him coolly, tapping ash out of his pipe. "There are many definitions of strength. Be careful the one you chose."

"I... I always need someone to save me." Stiles elaborated. "I'm just... the Pack mascot, the pet." He dropped his head, focused on the cooling tea instead of the eyes that suddenly seemed to see too much. "Not even that anymore. I want to be more than that. I want to be able to take care of myself." _I want to be good enough,_ he didn't say.

Watanuki watched for a while yet, then let out a heavy sigh full of smoke. "As we've discussed, there's a price."

"I'll pay it." he said readily.

"Careful." Watanuki replied sharply. "If you can just throw something away that easily, it obviously doesn't mean enough. If the price isn't equal, someone gets hurt." Stiles gazed back, trying to look stern, certain, not give away the anxiety spinning in him. After a moment Watanuki smiled and stood. "I have something, I believe, that might help. Wait a moment while I fetch it." Watanuki said. Stiles nodded, watched as Watanuki walked away.

Stiles sat in the room by himself for several minutes, looking around awkwardly, following the lines of lingering smoke with his eyes. Wondered at what Watanuki was fetching; at what his price would be; if he'd have the courage to pay it; if it would be enough, or if someone would get hurt like Watanuki had said.

When Watanuki returned, he was carrying a thick book which he placed gently on the table between them. Stiles stared. Never mind that it looked quite old and quite expensive. Never mind the detailed and intricate wings and star designs covering it, the lion's head. It was, first and above all else, almost violently pink. He looked up at Watanuki. "What's that?" he asked.

Watanuki smiled. "It's called the Book of Sakura. It belonged to an old friend of mine and was left in my care after her death. Please, look inside."

Stiles hesitated, then reached out to open the wing shaped latch. He'd barely laid hands on the thing when an odd tremble ran up his arms and the clasp undid itself on its own. Stiles jerked back immediately. "Is it supposed to do that?" he asked, startled. Watanuki nodded and motioned him to continue. Stiles did so.

The book wasn't a book, he discovered. There was a deep cut-out in the middle of the pages, and in the cut-out was a stack of cards. They were tarot-shaped, bright pink with an extensively detailed circular design on the back. He looked back up at Watanuki. "What are they?" he asked.

"Sakura Cards, though I have heard some Western magic-users call them Star Cards. They're a deck of extremely powerful magic cards, each with their own ability. Each, in their own way, completely sentient." Watanuki explained. "There are 53 in all. They were originally designed by a sorcerer named Clow Reed before they were passed on to his successor, Sakura. She remade them into what you see."

"They're very... pink." he said, because that was the easiest part to focus on. 

"Well, she was 12 at the time. But even in her later years, she did make the coloring work for her. She was a very brilliant woman." 

"These are, what's supposed to help me get stronger?"  
"Yes. If you're willing to pay the price, then the amount of magic needed to use them will force your magic to mature rapidly. In addition, the Cards come with two Guardians, who would assist in teaching the finer points of magic."

He took a deep breath and closed the book, watched the clasp click back into place without assistance. "The price being?" he asked.

Watanuki eyed him for another moment, taking another long draw from his pipe. "Something unusual will have to be done." Watanuki said after a minute. "You value this more than any item you could offer and the only memories and emotions important enough are too essential to take without damaging everything else." Watanuki leaned back, took another draw. Let it out in a hazy cloud. "Sakura first obtained ownership of these Cards by accidentally releasing them from their bindings and was thus forced into capturing them. Clow had seen her in a vision and was quite fond of her so he interfered with the process slightly, bound some of the Cards power to make it less difficult. The Cards no longer have those bindings." Watanuki continued. He sounded like he was thinking out loud. "If they were released again, this time intentionally..."

Watanuki sat up straight and looked at him. "Yes. We'll release the Cards again, scatter them. It will be your responsibility to find them and capture them before they cause too much havoc. Many of these Cards are merely mischievous in nature and don't wish to cause harm, but the amount of power they possess could cause a lot of damage, both to property and to people. You'll pay in the time and effort and pain you go through in order to capture them. Is that acceptable?"

"They're dangerous?"

"Very."

"Could I die?"

"Quite possibly, but a Guardian would be awakened to try to prevent that."

"Could others die?"

"Quite possibly, but again, Guardian."

Stiles thought about it. Pressed one hand to the ugly scars left from Kali's claws and wondered what a little more lost blood was, a few more scars. "I'll do it." he agreed.

Watanuki smiled and tapped out his pipe. "Alright. Deal accepted." Watanuki reached out and pressed one hand against the image of a lion's head on the book's cover. "Time to wake up Keroberos." A golden light began to seep out around Watanuki's hand as the lion's head glowed.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Relax." Watanuki reassured, voice calm. "There are two Guardians, as I've said. I'm merely awakening the first from his sleep so he may guide you."

The light got very bright quite swiftly, forcing Stiles to turn his head. When he looked back, the image of the lion's head on the book was gone. Hovering an inch above the book was a small golden...plush toy. Stiles stared at it in disbelief. It was a plush toy with small, white wings.

And then it yawned. 

Stiles jerked back in surprise, eying it unsurely. It cleared its throat, looking around before it focused on Watanuki. "Eh, Watanuki? Why did you wake me up?"

"It talks." Stiles muttered faintly, though he wasn't quite sure what he was expecting. 

The plush toy turned to face him, its eyes small and black but rather friendly. "Who's the kid?" It asked, pointing at him.

"He's the one who will be accepting the Cards." Watanuki said brightly. "He has made a deal for them. I can explain the particulars later if you want."

It made a contemplative sound in the back of its throat and kept gazing at him. "Yo." It said after a minute, waving. Stiles waved back, looking up at Watanuki for help. 

"This is Keroberos, the Sun Guardian of the Cards. If that's a bit of a mouthful, Sakura used to refer to him as Kero for short."

Stiles nodded, looked back at it-Kero. Kero was holding out one small paw. "I'm Stiles." He greeted, carefully shaking Kero's paw. "And I can't keep myself out of trouble."

Kero grinned, wide and honest. "I like him." Kero told Watanuki over his shoulder.

"Stiles." Watanuki said quietly, regaining his attention. "Why don't you head home and I'll explain to Kero what we've agreed to and what he's missed while he was asleep."

Stiles almost protested against leaving, wanted to stay and talk to this Guardian for a while yet. Then the thought occurred that if he went home he'd have access to his computer. If he had a computer, he had Google. His mind shifted gears rapidly, fell quickly into patterns of research. "How will he find me?" Stiles asked, partly distracted as he thought of questions to ask the internet.

"Take the Book. He has a connection to it, he could find it anywhere. Just don't open it. Kero will release them when its time, don't do it yourself."

Stiles nodded and carefully picked up the Book. The latch didn't pop open this time. "It was a pleasure to meet you." he said. "Thank you."

"Don't worry." Watanuki said warmly, smiling again. "It might not be for a while, but we'll meet again."

"See you at home, kid." Kero said, floating down to hover over the treats Stiles hadn't touched. He examined them carefully before popping a whole cookie into his mouth without effort. Stiles felt his eyes get very big as he watched Kero swallow them down. "If you could have some food waiting?"

"I'll see what I can find." he said faintly as Kero continued to demolish the cookies.

Stiles left. Magic, he thought, carefully placing the Book onto the passenger seat. He was going to learn magic. He broke maybe more than a few speed limits getting home and slammed his way up the stairs to his room, Book nestled against his chest tightly. He was Googling Book of Sakura before he'd even fully sat down.

 -----

Kero carefully slipped into the house where he sensed the Book and the faint dusting of the kid's magic, a magic deep and earthy, twisting in on itself to renew. The forest, Kero decided as he drifted into the living room from an open window he carefully shut. The kid drew his power from the forest. Interesting.

He floated up the stairs, keeping an eye out for stray family members, though he wasn't expecting any. He'd left the shop later than he'd expected, had wanted as much information as he could get before Watanuki shifted the shop back to its original place in Japan. There was too much Moon magic floating around this town to be normal. But Watanuki hadn't a clue, had barely been in town for a week. Had only been in town because Sakura had asked it of him.

He followed the Book to one of the bedrooms and pushed open the door. He stopped, surprised, when he noticed the kid still up, sitting at his computer and scribbling hastily in a notebook. The room was full of papers, notebooks stacked in overcautious piles, pictures pinned randomly to the walls. Yue was going to have a fit, Kero thought brightly.

The kid hadn't noticed him yet so he flew over to peer over his shoulder at the computer screen. Kero found himself looking at a rough sketching of the old Clow Card design. "How did they get that?" he wondered out loud.

Stiles jerked around, hands curling tightly around the notebook. Kero had to dodge up quickly when the kid decided to use it as a battering ram. "Wow, kid, easy, it's me!" he shouted. He slowly lowered himself back down when Stiles looked at him in surprise. "What are you still doing up? It's late enough to be early." He asked in concern.

Stiles sighed heavily and placed the notebook down. "Don't- don't sneak up on me." Stiles said. Kero noted the kid sounded exhausted, was beginning to look it to, shadows starting to appear under his eyes. 

Kero floated down enough to snag Stiles' shirt and began to haul him upwards. "Come on. Up you go." he urged. Stiles followed willingly, though Kero suspected half of that was due to his surprise at Kero's strength. "There we go. Time to bed." Kero pulled him towards it. 

Stiles fell down on it easily, though he gave a small noise of protest. "Don't like sleeping." he mumbled.

"No?" Kero asked, only half paying attention to the muttered words. He was relieved to note Stiles had long taken off his shoes and jeans for something more comfortable. He could still remember the days he'd had to help Sakura change and it had never been fun. He tugged at the blanket until Stiles rolled over and let him pull it out. Stiles gave a soft, happy sigh when the blanket fell over him.

"I dream when I sleep." Stiles said, but he was half asleep already despite his protests.

Kero paused briefly, eyed the young boy who was going to be his Master in surprise. After a minute he decided there was nothing he could do without more information and flew over to turn off the computer screen. That done, he located the Book placed on one of the shelves above Stiles' bed. He flew over to it and settled on top of it, curling up happily as he prepared to sleep himself.

He hoped Stiles didn't have any psychic family members he'd have to try to avoid.


	2. Your Heart in the Woods

Stiles knew he was dreaming. It was a strange feeling, to be aware he was dreaming but not able to change the dream, not be able to make himself wake up. He was sitting on a small couch all by himself, in a large room. He wasn't alone. There were quite a lot of people milling about, not acknowledging him. They were strange people, not human but not monsters either. Some were strange colors, pink and blue and green; some weren't even solid, made of shadow or smoke or wind. There were animals and objects and a little blue girl with a bow. Stiles wasn't afraid; he was coasting along with the calm acceptance of the weird that dreams afforded him.

There was a rustling among the crowd, people moving away as a woman approached him. The woman sat down across from him, offering him a sweet smile, the first person to acknowledge him. She was wearing a pretty dress, her hair was thick and left loose around her shoulders, and her eyes were kind; all of it was shaded green. Her collar was made of leaves and several more leaves were threaded through her hair. She didn't have any feet. "Hello." she greeted; her voice put into mind the sound of tree branches rustling in the wind and the heavy musky smell of wet dirt.

"Hello." he echoed.

"What do you want?" she asked. The rest of the people in the room stopped and turned to watch him.

"I want to be stronger."

"What do you want?" she asked again.

He frowned in confusion. He'd already answered that. _Ah well_ , he thought, _it's a dream, what the hell_. "I want to be able to take care of myself."

Again, "What do you want?"

They kept on like that for a few minutes, the woman asking him the same questions while Stiles thought of new ways to word his answer. Finally, he huffed and leaned back. "What kind of answer are you looking for?" he asked.

She frowned, head tilting curiously. "You only want that one thing?" 

"Well, no. I suppose not."

"What do you want?"

"I want my dad to be safe."

"What do you want?"

"Well, I want..." he trailed off, bit his lip, but forced himself to say what had popped into his mind. "Damn them, damn them all to hell, but I want the wolves safe too."

"What do you want?"

"I want..." Inexplicably, his eyes filled with tears. "I want to know why I wasn't good enough. I gave them everything; anything they wanted, I did it. And it... it wasn't good enough. Why wasn't it good enough? Why wasn't I good enough?"

The woman's eyes softened and she leaned forward to hug him, uncaring about how his tears soaked her shoulder. After a minute, she pulled back and wiped his cheeks. She smiled. "As you wish?"

Stiles woke with a wet gasp.

He didn't move for a few minutes, tried to gulp down the lump in his throat. Finally, he sat up, grimacing at the wet spot his tears had made on his pillow. That's when he became aware something was off. He was still dressed in his t-shirt and sweats, which he never wore to bed, and the lighting in his room was all wrong. He glanced over at his alarm clock then jolted out of bed with a curse. He was going to be so late.

He began a frantic search for semi-clean clothes. He must have forgotten to set his alarm clock before he crashed last night. He stumbled down the hall, trying to tug his jeans on at the same time. He couldn't be late, didn't want the Pack to wonder about his emotional state, if he was so thrown off by being out he couldn't even drag himself to school on time(this was an improvement, he was beginning to remember upon waking that he'd been thrown out). He hadn't even stayed up last night because of the Pack. He hit the bottom of the stairs, paused as that thought sank in, then immediately turned on his heel to run back upstairs.

Fuck school, he had magic.

He slammed back into his room, found the Book right where he'd left it, nestled safely on top of his bookshelf. He clambered onto the bed and looked at Kero, still sleeping soundly on top of the Book. He couldn't stop the wide grin that split his face. He was going to learn magic.

"Kero." He called, poking the Guardian, messing up the fine golden fur he was covered in. "Come on, Kero."

After a minute of putting up with the poking, Kero yawned and began to stretch. "Eh, kid? What's going on?"

"Sorry for waking you." He apologized, still grinning widely. He wasn't sorry. "But dude, magic."

Kero stretched again, the white puff of fur on the end of his tail bristling out. Then Kero looked up at him, black eyes amused. "Alright, alright. I'll answer questions if you're willing to provide breakfast."

"Deal." Stiles said, with more cheer than he had used all week. He hopped off the bed and was nearly at the door, when Kero called out to him. He paused and looked back.

Kero was looking at him in confusion, arms crossed over his chest as he floated above the Book. "Shouldn't you be in school?" Kero asked.  
"Technically, yes." he said quickly. "But really, magic. So much more important. Besides, I'm pretty sure all of my teachers are convinced I'm coming down with a terrible illness after yesterday. I'll be fine." he said, then hurried out of the room before Kero could push. 

He took the stairs two at a time, jumped over the last three with a grin. When he got to the kitchen, he scrambled through the freezer, finally found the box of waffles. When he pulled out, box held out triumphantly, he saw Kero had followed him, was looking around the house curiously. "Waffles okay?" he asked, already pulling out the toaster.

Kero nodded and flew up to investigate the kitchen cabinets. Stiles watched him with amusement, though he had to arch an eyebrow when Kero managed to pull out two plates and carry them easily over to the counter. A little stronger than Stiles had originally assumed. Kero continued to cheerfully search the kitchen and pull more things out for breakfast. "So, where do you want to begin?" Kero asked.

Stiles pulled the waffles out and threw them on the plates. "Um...oh, hell. I literally just forgot every question I had last night." he said.

Kero laughed, yanking the syrup bottle open. "You're funny." he said, then waved his paw. It took a second but then the Book flew into the room to land softly on the counter. Another wave and it opened, the Cards floating out to hover around them. "Any ideas now?"

Stiles watched them for a minute. "Is there any way to make them... not pink?" he asked hesitantly.

"No." Kero said, wicked grin splitting his face. "You'd have to rebuild the Cards from your own magic base. You don't have enough power to support them all yet."

"They draw magic from outside sources?" he asked. "Then where are they getting their magic right now?"

"They're burning through the last of Sakura's magic. Half of them are pulling magic from me, since I partially generate my own."

"Only half?"

"The other half pull from Yue, the Moon Guardian."

"Yue? When will I be meeting him?"

"Soon. I'm gonna wake that sourpuss up when we release the Cards."

"Right. And roughly when is that going to occur?"

"Well, we'll have to do a few things first. You're going to need to learn to access your magic and master a few basic spells to capture them. We'll also need to build you a new staff, since Sakura used hers as payment at that shop."

"My own staff?" he asked and couldn't keep the grin off his face. 

Kero smiled back. "Yeah, your own staff. We'll do that whenever you want. However, it's going to be built off of your own power, so its going to drain you. You're going to want a big nap after."

"That's alright, I don't have anything planned." he said, swallowing the last of his waffles. "What should I expect from capturing these things? Watanuki said it was dangerous."

"It can be if you're not careful." Kero said, watching him. When Stiles glanced back, Kero widened his eyes and made mournful looks at his empty plate. Stiles rolled his eyes but popped more into the toaster. "Me and Yue will be there to ensure nothing gets too out of control, but these Cards are powerful and can cause a lot of damage. Most of them work on a Balance of Elements system, so you'll need to find out which Card beats which-"

"Like Pokemon."

"-Yeah, sure. Others are tricky. You'll need to do something special to neutralize their powers."

"Like?" Stiles asked, throwing the heated waffles onto Kero's plate. 

"Oh, that would be telling." Kero said, smiling widely. "I'll be willing to help, of course, if you get in over your head."

"Right. Well, since some Cards need another Card to beat them, what if I don't have the needed Card yet?" he asked.

"That shouldn't happen." Kero said. Stiles braced his arms against the counter and raised his eyebrows. "If that happens," Kero said, sighing. " _Which it shouldn't_ , Yue and I will act to put it to sleep until you have the necessary Card."

Stiles nodded, watching the Cards fold back into the Book. He tapped one finger against the complex circle on their back. "What's this?"

"Sakura's magic circle. Every sorcerer has one, it's kind of like their personal signature. You'll have one."

"Really?"

"Yup. You'll be able to see yours when we make your staff."

"Awesome!" He waved his hand towards Kero's plate and raised his eyebrows questioningly. Kero obviously thought about it for a few minutes then finally sighed and pushed it forward. Stiles grinned and rushed it to the sink. "When do we start?" he asked brightly.

"Whenever you want."

"Right." Stiles quickly dried his hands and turned back. "Lets get to work."

Kero had him push the furniture in the living room around until there was a big, empty area for them to sit in. They then spent a very annoying two hours working on Stiles' magic. It took him a while to access his magic, to pull it up where he could use it. It came out as a trickle at first, just a shiver up his spine that made Kero give him an unimpressed look. He scowled at the plush toy and focused harder, yanked at the curl of warmth in the back of his mind. It flooded out then, filled his ears with the sound of rustling trees and breaking branches. For a second, the whole world turned crystal clear behind his closed eyes, Kero a burning golden light in his mind. He gasped in surprise and lost his hold on his magic. The rush puttered out quickly. He snapped his eyes open, looking around in surprise. "Holy shit." he said to himself, feeling winded.

"That wasn't bad." Kero said.

"Everything got really bright." he said, waving around wildly.

"Everything natural produces small amounts of magic. You sensed that briefly. You should learn to do it without concentrating so hard." Kero explained. "Now, lets try that again, and see if you can hold it."

For as easy going as Kero could be, he was a strict taskmaster and didn't let Stiles stop until he was satisfied with the speed Stiles could access his magic. It got easier every time he did it though, until all it took was a thought to have the magic buzzing pleasantly at his fingertips. By the time it was over, there was an uncomfortable tingle in the back of his throat and it took a second to convince his legs he could stand without problems. Kero watched him consideringly as Stiles bounced up after they finished and gulped back half his bottle of water. It didn't do much against the strange tingle in his throat. He coughed and looked back at Kero. "Why's my throat feel so weird?"

"Warning sign you're using too much magic." Kero said, only half paying attention. "Food and some sleep will fix it." Stiles nodded, drinking the rest of the bottle. "You're already pushing magical exhaustion; why don't we just make your staff now and you can sleep in til dinner?"

Stiles shrugged and, stretching briefly, resumed his seat in the middle of the floor. "What do I do?" he asked as he stretched his neck.

"Pull your magic like before. I'll shape it." Kero said, floating closer. "This is going to burn through magic faster than you're used to, okay? Just try to keep a grip on it." Kero started to settle, his face creased in concentration, before a thought occurred to him. "Oh yeah. Is Stiles your real name?"

Stiles blinked. "What?"

"Names have a great amount of power in magic. I'll need your real name to seal the staff to you."

"Seriously?" he asked. When Kero nodded, he sighed and muttered it under his breath.

"What?" Kero asked, looking confused. "Can you repeat that?" Stiles glared but did say it louder. Kero stared for a minute then started laughing. "Really? Wow, no wonder you have the nickname." Kero snickered again then visibly shook himself. "Right, that's uh... Got it. Lets' get started." 

Stiles glared but took that brief downwards mental dive to grab his magic. "A bit more." Kero advised, watching him closely. Though it was more than he'd used at once during practice, it wasn't hard to broaden the stream he was using until the pleasant tingling in his fingers was a constant, heavy warmth. A strange feeling coursed over him, like a large had clamped over the back of his neck and yanked the magic away from him. He hissed, almost broke the flow of magic, then recognized the golden warmth as Kero's magic. 

"That feels really weird." he complained. Kero didn't acknowledge him, instead focusing on weaving the magic together in a pattern Stiles barely got a brief impression of. Before he could say something more, there was a bright light beneath him and a circle spread out along the ground, Stiles at the center. Stiles froze, staring at it. _Right_ , he thought, _Magic circle_.

There were some elements in common with Sakura's circle, but his seemed much simpler, not so many complex geometric shapes crowding it. It glowed in shades of green and dark bronze, with five main shapes. To his right was the sun and to his left was the moon, both the same design from Sakura's circle. But in front of him was a solar eclipse and behind him, a lunar one. The dominant feature, taking the place of Sakura's big star, was a massive tree.

He was pulled from his thoughts by Kero saying his name. He looked up and found a sphere of bright light hovering between him and Kero. "Stiles, you have to grab it." Kero instructed.

Stiles reached forward, found the sphere lengthening as he did so into a handle. When he got his fingers wrapped around it, the circle and the light disappeared and the drain on his magic broke. He felt exhausted suddenly and flopped onto his back, struggling to keep his eyes open. He shook his head briefly, pushed himself onto his elbows. His mouth felt like something had crawled in and died, he was starving, and it was taking on annoying long time to convince his body it was okay to move. Oh hell, magic exhaustion sucked. 

He made himself focus on the staff he was still holding. It was the length of his arm and made of wood. The design was simple, two thick vines twining around the main staff to the very top, where they separated and doubled back down to melt into the main body. The vines should have made it irritating to hold, but it wasn't. "Okay, that's kinda cool." he muttered to himself.

Kero flew down to hover next to him. "It has a false form," Kero explained, "to make it easier to carry with you."

It took a few false starts before he was able to figure out how to pull his magic out of the staff, turning it into it's false form. It fit into his palm easily and looked like a tree in full bloom, the trunk shaped like key teeth. 

"Why don't you grab the Book and take a nap?" Kero suggested. "I'll fix the furniture."

Stiles gave him a grateful look and forced himself to his feet to begin the long climb back to his room. He barely managed to get the Book and key back onto the shelf before he collapsed into a solid sleep.

\---

Stiles went to school the next day feeling wide awake and strangely energetic. _"It's cause your body's adjusting to using your magic as an energy source. You're probably going to have a few mood swings until it levels."_ Kero had explained that morning when he'd started running around the house getting ready. Before he'd left, Kero had flown over to him and held out his key, which Kero had apparently threaded onto a necklace while he'd slept. _"You should get used to always wearing it."_

Several of his teachers, and a surprising number of students he hadn't realized paid attention to him, asked if he was feeling better. Stiles had been able to answer truthfully when he'd said he was feeling better than ever. Magic was fucking awesome.

He considered, briefly, telling the wolves about his magic, about the havoc he was apparently going to release on the town soon. But they were still avoiding him, refused to look at him or acknowledge, so he decided not to. They obviously didn't care, so he wasn't going to bother with them anymore. Because he was so focused on ignoring them, he didn't notice when they did start acknowledging him. Every so often, one of the wolves would glance over at him, looking bewildered.

At English, he discovered a small seating problem. Monday he'd had to sit in Mandy's seat to avoid the Pack. On Monday, Mandy had been absent; on Wednesday, not so much. He looked around quickly, found two empty seats: the first was his old seat behind Erica and Boyd, which no, no way in hell; the second was next to Danny. On Monday, he hadn't wanted to deal with anyone he actually knew, hadn't wanted to face the concern he'd seen growing in Danny's eyes over the day. Now, he walked over to where Danny was sitting and rapped his knuckles against the table. "Can I sit with you?" he asked. "Since I've been kicked out of my little social clique."

Danny glanced up briefly from his notes, smiled and nodded, before dropping his eyes back to his notes. Almost immediately though, Danny's eyes flew back up, wide with surprise. "Stiles?" he asked, sounding shocked.

Stiles froze in the process of sitting down and looked over at him. "Yes?" he drew out.

Danny stared for another minute, his eyes flicking wildly over his body before landing for a long second on his new necklace. Finally, Danny shook himself. "It's just... You look different." Danny said, smile crossing his face again, though it looked shaky to Stiles. "From Monday, I mean. Much better."

Danny's smile was getting firmer, brighter, so Stiles decided to ignore the strange behavior. "Thanks." he said brightly. "I feel better."

"Yeah, I bet." Danny said. "You want the notes from yesterday?" Danny asked. 

Stiles smiled. "Yeah, thanks, you're a life-savor." 

They continued on like that for the rest of English, working in a comfortable silence, talking occasionally to clarify a question on the assignment or check answers. It was peaceful, nice in a different way than it was with Scott, and Stiles found himself relaxing into it. Danny sometimes glanced over at him, nose scrunched up like he wasn't sure he recognized Stiles. Stiles was going to comment on it, but then he realized Erica kept glancing back at him, expression baffled. Stiles ignored it the next three times it happened, but when she kept doing it, he finally made a sharp gesture with his hands and raised his eyebrows pointedly. It wasn't until her eyes glanced up sharply to meet his that he realized she wasn't looking at him. She looked embarrassed in the brief moment before she turned around. "What the hell?" he hissed, knowing Erica would hear him.

"It's your bag." Danny said next to him. When Stiles glanced over at him, Danny used his pencil to point at where Stiles' bag was laying on the edge of the table in front of them. "She keeps looking at your bag. There's something wrong with it." Danny explained and his nose did that confused scrunching again.

Stiles gave an annoyed sigh but reached out and snagged his bag, drawing it quickly into his lap. He pulled it open, didn't find anything in the main slot, just the same things he'd expected. He yanked open the second slot, the one he didn't use, and found the Book inside, Kero sleeping peacefully on top of it. "Kero!" he hissed in surprise, then immediately snapped it closed and glanced wildly at Danny next to him.

Danny raised an eyebrow, looking equal parts amused and confused, and Stiles decided Danny hadn't noticed what was in his bag. He smiled widely, aware it looked a bit manic, and kept the bag pushed against his chest carefully to hide it until the bell rang a few minutes later.

He rushed out, not bothering to say goodbye to Danny and hurried towards the empty classroom he'd hid out in for lunch on Monday. He yanked open his bag again when he got there and dumped Kero and the Book out gracelessly onto the nearest desk. Kero finally woke up, looking startled as he glanced around. "Kero, what are you doing here?!" Stiles hissed.

Kero shook himself to wake up more then finally looked over at him. "I'm your Guardian. I can't protect you if I'm not with you." Kero grouched. "It's not like anyone's going to notice, I can play being a toy really well."

"Except they will, because there are fucking werewolves here Kero!" he shouted, resisting the urge to shake him.  
Kero stared blankly for a minute then his eyes slowly widened. "Werewolves?!" he shouted. Then Kero's expression turned thoughtful, looking like he'd just solved a puzzle. "Well, that would explain the excess moon magic floating around."

"You can't come with me, Kero. They're already giving me weird looks and I'm trying to avoid them." Stiles said, feeling very tired all of a sudden.

Kero frowned and floated up to place a concerned paw on his forehead. "You okay, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah. Shit just went down between me and the wolves a few days ago." he said, shaking his head slightly. "Kero, just, you can fly home right? Or wait in the car?"

Kero watched him for another minute then nodded. "Yeah, I'll head home." Kero said quietly. "Be careful."

"Right. I'll be there after lacrosse." Stiles said. He waited until Kero sneaked out of the classroom window before he dropped into a chair and placed his head in his hands. "Christ." He breathed. He didn't move until lunch ended then forced himself to go to Bio and hide in the back of the class away from everyone.

\---

Stiles jogged up the steps quickly when he got home and barged into his room, a greeting on his lips for Kero. He stopped short, eyes going wide when he saw a man he didn't recognize. A year's worth of practice fighting off werewolves had him immediately reaching back to unhook his crosse stick from his backpack and swing it in front of him as a weapon. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, balancing on his heels so he could take off quickly if he had to.

"Wow, wow, Stiles!" Kero shouted, flying into his face. "Calm down! This is Yue! The Moon Guardian! Remember I said I was going to wake him up before I released the Cards?"

Stiles glanced between them quickly then lowered his crosse stick. "Oh. Hi." he greeted. "I don't do well when people sneak up on me." he explained, smiling unsurely.

Yue arched one eyebrow, expression otherwise blank. Yue, unlike his counterpart, looked mostly like a human male, with a few exceptions. His skin was very pale, his hair was silver and quite long, held together in ponytail as the ends brushed his bare feet, and his eyes were a blue-silver, the pupils cat slit. He was wearing blue and white robes. Most notably were the white, angel-like wings filling the space behind him. "Hello." Yue replied, nodding.

Stiles shrugged off his bag and looked between the two. "Um, I can make a light lunch." he suggested.

Kero cheered brightly and zoomed past him towards the kitchen. Yue, however, shook his head slightly. "I don't eat." Yue told him.

"Oh. Um, why don't you come downstairs anyway?" he asked awkwardly before spinning on his heels and walking out.

"Christ." he muttered to himself, rubbing at his forehead. He'd been expecting someone like Kero, small, easy to hide, and easy to explain away to his father if found. No, Yue was a 6 foot tall angel with massive wings. Not quite so easy to hide.

"Your dad dropped by earlier." Kero said when he entered the kitchen. "Left a note." Kero nodded his head towards the dining room table. 

Stiles sighed and walked over to scan it. "He'll be out late tonight. Work things." he summarized and walked back towards Kero. "Sandwiches okay?" he asked. Kero nodded.

"Your dad's out a lot. What's he do?"

"He's the Sheriff." he said, pulling out lunch meats and cheeses from the refrigerator. When he turned back around, Yue was right behind him. "Shit!" He shouted, jumping, struggling not to drop everything. "Make some noise when you move!" he ordered.

Yue raised an eyebrow again and held out his hands. "Would you like some help?" he asked blandly.

Stiles rolled his eyes and shook his head, placing his loot on the counter for Kero to go crazy with. "Are we releasing the Cards soon?" he asked. 

Kero nodded. “Yeah, later today."

"Cool." he said and dropped into a chair. "This magic energy mood swing shit sucks." he moaned.

"It should only be for another week." Kero said, pulling himself from his food to pat a hand against Stiles' head comfortingly.

Stiles offered Kero a small smile and looked over at Yue, who was standing patiently on the other side of the counter, just watching them. "I have no idea how I'm going to hide you from my dad."

"I have a false form." Yue said. "One that appears human."

"Really?" 

Yue nodded and slanted a look at Kero. "That's his false form. You don't think he's really capable of guarding anything looking like that, do you?"

Stiles ignored Kero's indignant squawk, smiling slightly when he saw the amusement lurking in Yue's eyes. "I don't know, he's pretty strong for such a small guy."

"Yes, indeed." Yue agreed, but his tone was dry.

"He'll be going with you to school." Kero cut in around his sandwich.

Yue winkled his nose in disgust. "Swallow before talking, you idiot." he said.

Stiles ignored Yue's comment in favor of Kero's. "Um, he will?"

"You should have one of us with you at all times; there's no telling when a Card will activate. I can't go to school with you because of the wolves." Kero explained. "But they won't look twice if you gain a new human friend."

"Yes, these wolves." Yue said, finally taking at seat, wings folding tightly against his back before disappearing. _Well, that's convenient_ , Stiles thought. "Tell me what you know about them."

"Um, well, there's one Pack. There are two Alphas, Derek and Scott, and they co-run the Pack. Three Betas, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd. Oh, and crazy uncle Peter, but I'm pretty sure he's going to try killing us all any day now so I wouldn't call him Pack. Um, there's also Allison, Scott's girlfriend. She's a Hunter, one of the Argents. Her family has a deal with the wolves here to keep the killing to a minimum. Part of it is that Allison's supposed to keep an eye on the wolves."

"Keep the killing to a minimum? There's a lot of killing around here?" Yue asked startled, eyes flaring wide. Kero paused in eating and fixed him with a hard stare.

"A lot. Well, not so much now that we defeated the Alpha Pack and have that deal with the Argents. Its all supposed to stabilize the territory. Nothing's happened in months." He explained.

The two Guardians traded looks. "One of us is to be with you at _all times_." Yue stated firmly. Stiles shrugged in acceptance.

"Alright then." Stiles said and jumped up, feeling energetic again. He clapped his hands together. "Shall we deal with the Cards?" he asked and didn't wait for an answer before he was running to snatch the Book from his backpack.

When he flew back down to the kitchen, Yue was finishing stacking the plates in the dishwasher and Kero was returning the food to the refrigerator. Yue turned back to him first and accepted the Book when it was handed to him. "While we will release all of them today, many of the Cards will fall into a sleep once they scatter, to prevent too much danger from happening too fast. They will awaken over a period of several months. Is this acceptable?" Yue asked.  
Stiles nodded. "Oh, yeah, it's fine."

They ended up in the living room again, Yue and Kero standing opposite him. There was a brief pause, then Sakura's magic circle filled the floor. A wind started to kick up around the room. Yue opened the Book without a comment. The wind picked a few Cards up from the Book, held them for a few minutes, before the whole Deck started to glow. Next thing Stiles knew, they were zipping in every direction in bursts of light, the walls and ceiling doing nothing to stop their flight out. It lasted for several minutes then gradually puttered off, the wind and light dying away. Yue closed the now empty Book and handed it to him. 

Stiles took it, slightly dazed. "Wow." he said. "That was cool." 

Kero grinned widely. "Well, you're officially a Cardcaptor now!" he cheered.

Stiles let out a small laugh but before he could say anything, there was a ripple of light in front of him. One of the Cards appeared, hovering in front of him. He blinked and looked at the Guardians.

Yue looked amused. "Yes, I suppose she would prefer to stay with you." he mused and nodded when Stiles reached for the Card.

The Card was warm in his grasp and the light vanished when he held it, revealing its face. He gasped in surprise. It was the woman from his dream. At the bottom of the Card, in all caps, were the words _THE WOOD_. He stared for a minute in surprise. 

"You draw your power from the forest." Yue said softly. "You two are of a kind."

"Well, you're off to a great start." Kero complemented.

"You'll have to sign your name at the bottom." Yue said, moving over to snatch a pen from the coffee table nearby. "It will seal the bond between you and prevent it from flying away again." 

Stiles took the pen and glanced at Kero. A wicked smile stole across Kero's face. "Yeah, Stiles, your _real_ name." he said gleefully. While Stiles sighed irritably, Yue looked over at his brother.

"Is that not his real name?" Yue asked in confusion. Kero started to laugh for real then, pulling in great gasps of air between chuckles. Stiles rolled his eyes and tossed the pen at him when he finished, smirking when it caught the top of Kero's head and sent him flying back. Stiles ignored Kero's yelled reply, instead carefully placing WOOD back in the Book and closing the cover on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to this has been just amazing. Just amazing. The little PR fandom I was in before did not prepare me for all of this. I'll admit, I had something of a small freak out when I came home from school last week and saw I already had like, 20 subscribers. Overwhelming is an apt word. Thank you, all of you.
> 
> Several people have asked already, so I thought I'd just put this here. I'm planning on updating this once every week or so, usually on Monday or Wednesday morning since I'll be in class all today and won't be able to compulsively check my email every five minutes.
> 
> If you want, my tumblr is here: http://dreamedge.tumblr.com/


	3. Move, Jump, Staying Still Does Nothing

Stiles got up nearly a full half hour before his alarm clock, magic buzzing eagerly in his veins. He hopped out of bed, trying for disgruntled but not succeeding. He felt wide awake, jittery, more focused than ten Adderall could provide. 

Kero was still sleeping in a pile of blankets on the floor, hidden partially by the nightstand. Yue, who apparently didn't sleep as well as not eat, had taken off before the Sheriff had come home. _"He's probably gone to check on the Cards. He's a big worrier."_ Kero had said as he stomped his blankets into an acceptable form. _"He can take care of himself."_

He stretched briefly before finding clothes and hopping down the stairs. "Stiles?" his dad asked from where he was pouring a cup of coffee. "You're up early.”

"I slept really well." he said, darting in to steal the cup of coffee before his dad could take a sip.

"Oh, come on!"

"Do you know what this does to your heart?" he asked, giving his dad a narrowed eyed look.

The Sherrif rolled his eyes and went to make another cup. "Well, at least you're looking better." 

"See?" Stiles spread his arms wide. "Told you all I needed was a good mope." 

The Sheriff rolled his eyes but smiled fondly. "I'm heading to work. You be careful, stay out of trouble."

"Oh yeah. Me, trouble, arch-nemeses."

The Sheriff looked like he was about to say something to that then finally just shook his head and left. Stiles laughed to himself. He spent another few minutes in the kitchen, heating up poptarts for himself and Kero, before jogging back up to his room.

He glanced briefly over at where he'd left the Book on his desk last night, wondering if he should bring it with him, then did a double-take. There was a Card sitting on the cover. He couldn't see its face from where he was standing in the doorway but he knew, he _knew_ , that wasn't WOOD. "Kero." he hissed, not looking away from the Card. "KERO!"

Kero snorted awake, looking over at him in annoyance. "Is waking me up this early going to become a habit?" Kero complained. "Unlike some, I like my sleep."

Stiles ignored his complaints and pointed at the Card. "That's not WOOD."

Kero flew over to hover above the Card. "It's WINDY." he said. His head tilted like he was listening to something. "She's surrendering."

Stiles approached cautiously despite the assurances, placing the plate of poptarts onto the desk. "It is?" he asked. "Why?"

"Well, WINDY's kind of lazy." Kero said, moving to sniff at the poptarts. "And she really doesn't like fighting. WOOD doesn't either, so its not really a surprise those two came back. They'll fight if ya ask them to, but against aggressive Cards you'll be better off relying on strategy."

Stiles nodded, grabbing a pen from the desk, and signing his name. He went to place it in the Book with WOOD, but Kero flew up and rested on the cover, preventing him. "You should find a way to carry them on you. The other Cards are everywhere by now and you don't want to be caught without them. It'll take too long to pull them out of the Book."

He thought about that then grabbed one of his jackets with the deep pockets. "I'll see if I can't find something better on the way home." he said.

There was a knock on the front door then. He turned, surprised. "That's Yue." Kero said, finally digging into the poptarts.

Stiles ignored his horrible eating habits and jogged down the stairs. Yue was waiting patiently at the front door, looking exactly as he had last night when he'd left, sans wings. Stiles eyed his robes with dawning horror. "Oh my god, get inside." he hissed, curling one hand in the front of his robe and yanking him inside. "Do you know how bad the gossip in this neighborhood is?"

"I can imagine." Yue said dryly. "I apologize, I have not finished the false form."

"Haven't finished? You don't have one from when you were with... uh, Sakura, wasn't it?"

"Sakura Kinomoto, yes. I did have one then. However, I let him go."

"Eh, I miss the snow bunny." Kero said, flying down to meet them, half a poptart still crammed in his mouth.

Yue's expression of distaste returned. "That's disgusting." he said. Kero swallowed then stuck his tongue out. In return, Yue very pointedly turned his back. 

Stiles rolled his eyes. "You're both drama queens, aren't you?" he asked with resignation.  
"I'm no where near as bad as this guy!" Kero protested, pointing at Yue. Yue just gave him an expression that Stiles would call constipated if Yue were a little less elegant.

"Uh huh." he said. Stiles ignored Kero's continuing protests and ran up the stairs to grab the jacket with the Cards in them. "Is my backpack down there?" he called as he shrugged it on.

"Yes it is." Yue called back and there was an odd note of amusement in his voice. Stiles prayed Kero hadn't somehow made a mess while he was gone. He briefly patted the Cards, feeling the firm shape of them in his pocket, the slight warmth from their magic, then headed back down.

Kero hadn't made a mess beyond finding the rest of the poptarts. He sighed, already doing mental calculations about how much more food he'd have to buy to keep up with Kero, if his dad would buy growth spurt for a reason. He managed to steal one for himself before Kero ate them all. 

"I've got to go to school." he said. He looked around quickly, found his backpack sitting on the couch. He frowned at it, pretty sure that wasn't where he left it, but went to pick it up.

"I'll join you shortly." Yue said calmly. "Be careful until I can."  
Stiles nodded, touching one hand to the Cards again. "Right, right." He paused then on a thought, turned back to the two Guardians just in time to catch Yue's smirk before he choked it down. Stiles narrowed his eyes, words frozen in his throat. It wasn't until Yue pointedly raised his eyebrows that Stiles continued. "Right... so, I had this thought." He pulled out the two Cards he had. "Right now, really easy for me to keep track of these. But when I have like five, or ten, it's going to be hard to grab the one I want in the middle of a fight. So..."

"Just think of the Card you want." Kero said as he tossed the box in the trash. At least Kero was very neat. "Then grab the top one. They'll move to answer you."

"...Cool." Stiles said after a moment of thought. He looked over at Yue. "Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked. Yue shook his head. He watched the Moon Guardian suspiciously for another minute then turned to grab his bag. He was a step away, already reaching out to grab it, then it disappeared. Stiles had a brief impression of pressure in his head, a sweet smell like flowers, then it was gone along with his bag. He stared at the empty couch for a minute then dropped his head and shook it. "So, how many Cards are actually in my house?" he asked.

He heard Kero start to laugh and when he turned to look at them, Yue was smirking fully. "I hate you both." he told them, not unkindly. "You've been waiting for that since I woke up haven't you?"

Kero regained enough control to shrug, still smiling widely. Stiles glared at them before reaching up and yanking the key off. Before, when he'd practiced the spell, he'd felt a little foolish, the words clumsy and odd on his tongue. Now they came easy and it was simple to get swept up in the weave of the spell, to let it wash away thoughts of how it looked. _"Key governed by the power of woods, reveal to me your true form. By contract, I command you, Release!"_

It took only a few seconds for the key to lengthen into his staff. He spun his wrist to loosen up, already looking around for the Card. He caught sight of his bag near the stairs and approached slowly. He intended to stay further away then he had before, but this time, as soon as he got within five feet, the Card disappeared. He sighed heavily. "I'm really not going to like this one, am I?" 

"You are at a disadvantage." Kero said, and, damn him, he sounded really amused. "The easiest way to catch MOVE is to grab it just after it appears, before it can teleport again. But your senses aren't sharp enough to sense where its going to appear quick enough." 

He aimed another glare at the Sun Guardian. "Of course." he sighed, then spotted his bag over near the back door this time. "Tell me, how close do I have to be?"

"Within arms reach and line of sight." Yue said. The Moon Guardian had taken a seat at the kitchen table now, perched elegantly on the edge and watching him carefully.

Stiles kept his calm for another three minutes, chasing MOVE throughout his house, sometimes even following it up and down the stairs, never able to get close enough to seal it. "Just be glad it hasn't ported into the street." Kero called up to him. The two had moved into the living room to be able to watch him run around easier. He was currently on the second floor landing. 

Whatever humor he'd originally found in the situation had long since faded, left only with irritation and the feeling of Yue's eyes on him. After the first time MOVE had tricked him, Yue had lost his smirk, had instead watched him closely, judged him. He could feel it, even though Yue didn't say anything. He knew the look. Growling under his breath, he whipped out WINDY. He'd thought of this seven ports ago but hadn't gone through because he knew he didn't have the time to fix the mess it would cause. Now, he was so past the point of caring. He tracked MOVE to the kitchen again and stayed as far away as line of sight would allow. 

The magic circle spread out underneath him. _"WINDY!"_ he called, slamming the top of his staff against the Card, command firmly in mind. WINDY spun out in every direction, filling the house in strong winds. He stood in the middle of it untouched; out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kero grab hold of Yue, who didn't seem to be touched at all, to keep from flying away. MOVE was picked up and bounced around, his bag slamming against the cabinets several times. He heard something break just as the winds died down.

He approached Move, who was apparently to stunned and turned about to port, quickly and raised his staff. Just as with the staff and with WINDY, the spell came easy to his lips, felt natural despite the awkward phrasing. _"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!"_ The magic circle appeared again, and MOVE was pulled from his bag in gusts of wind and a pink mist, eventually forming the familiar Card shape. He let his staff drop down again, reaching out a hand as the Card floated towards him. He turned briefly, found WINDY behind him awaiting instructions. He nodded, watched as WINDY returned to Card form as well.

He scrubbed one hand through his hair and looked at his bag, wondering how much of it was broken. He kneeled down and started to rifle through it, grabbing a pen and writing his name quickly. "There." he said, walking over to show it to the Guardians. "Got it."

Yue made a thoughtful sound, looking around at the house. "You used WINDY to stun MOVE long enough to seal it." he said. "It's... crude. But rather effective. When did you think of it?" 

"Pretty early on. But well," He shrugged and motioned to the mess the house was now. Any objects that weren't tied down or heavy were scattered all over the room, several of them broken. He eyed the half of a broken whiskey bottle he could see then shrugged. At least his dad wouldn't be drinking it. 

"You have to get to school, don't you?" Kero asked, floating up to eye level. 

"Yeah. I'm actually going to be late if I wait any longer."

"Go." Kero urged. "Me and sourpuss here can clean it up."

"You sure? What happened to _'One of us with you at all times'_?" 

"I will be along shortly." Yue assured. "Once I finish the false form and take care of the main debris." Yue paused in thought, then told him. "You should be aware that with the Cards scattered, once I revert to the false form, I won't have the power to transform back."

"You won't?" he asked in surprise.

"No. Neither will Kero. In order for me to do so, you'd have to capture WINDY and WATERY. For Kero, it's FIREY and EARTHY."

"Lovely." he said quietly. "I... I'll deal with that later. I've got to go." Stiles waved turned to run out the door, returning his Cards to their assigned pocket and feeling rather proud of himself.

\----

The first part of school was easy with the victory over MOVE still buzzing in his veins. When the pain from the Pack got too much, it was simple to think back to the capture, how easy the spells had fallen.

He sat with Danny again at English, though Danny seemed on edge and looked at him almost without recognition at first. Yet, as time went by, Danny seemed to settle into whatever was bothering him.

At lunch, he actually stayed in the cafeteria, as a small resistance to the part of him that wanted to hide where the Pack wouldn't see him. He sat alone though. He could see the Pack out of the corner of his eye, watched as they refused to look at him, instead talking amongst themselves quietly with serious expressions. On the other side of the cafeteria were Danny and Lydia holding court. They at least seemed to be enjoying themselves, though Lydia sometimes shot him looks like she wasn't pleased with his behavior. He resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her the next time she looked his way.

He was playing with what he _thought_ tentatively might be ravioli's when someone sat down across from him. It was a boy he didn't recognize, about his age, maybe a year older. "I've managed to register in four of your classes." The boy told him, his voice familiar.

Stiles' eyes widened and he gave the boy another wide look. He was pale, his hair cut short around his ears and blond, almost silver. His eyes were a familiar shade of pale blue. "Yue!" he hissed in surprise.

Yue arched an eyebrow and held out a piece of paper for him. Stiles grabbed it automatically, glancing down briefly to confirm it was what he thought, a class schedule. "What? How are you here?" he asked.

Yue frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how did you register for school? You're a magical construct, do you even have a social security number?" Stiles demanded.

"You didn't mention these concerns before."

"I thought you meant you were going to follow me, not join me in class!" he snapped, then paused and wondered what it said about him that his first thought was stalking. Yue merely raised an eyebrow. He glared back briefly, then looked at the list in his hands. Yue had American History, Calculus, Economics, and, joy of joys, AP Bio with him. He sighed and handed the list back. "Well, welcome to high school." he said.

"I've been. I didn't like it." Yue informed him. 

Stiles snorted and glanced around briefly. The Pack was still ignoring him, which was good cause he didn't even want to think what conclusions they'd draw if they'd heard that conversation. Lydia was watching Yue curiously and Danny had gone pale. Stiles paused and looked closer. Danny was watching them interact, pale and spooked. He raised one hand to get his attention, but once he had it, Danny visibly shook himself and looked away with nothing but a dim smile.

Stiles turned back to Yue, who was looking around. "Those are the wolves?" Yue asked quietly, waving one hand towards where the Pack was sitting.  
He nodded. "The ones in the leather jackets are the Betas. The other two are Scott, one of the Alphas, and Allison, the hunter."

"Interesting group. I hadn't expected the majority of the Pack to be so young."

"Yeah well, the good thing is that they're mostly harmless unless its a full moon. They're like puppies really." Yue watched him with a raised eyebrow, like he'd said something intriguing. "What?" Yue waved him off, didn't answer.

They spent the rest of lunch in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Yue was calmly flipping through his new textbooks, occasionally making disgruntled faces at the information like it had personally insulted him. Stiles watched, because it was funny, and it felt like payback for this morning.

In Bio, Stiles walked to his new seat in the back of the room, Yue following behind. Yue actually nudged him from his aisle seat, pressed him into the seat by the wall. Stiles made an irritated noise but went, didn't understand until Yue sat next to him and created a barrier between him and the rest of the class, including Scott and Isaac. He relaxed unintentionally, settled further into his seat. Didn't think until Harris past by his desk halfway through class he shouldn't have let his guard down.

He stiffened reflexively, felt more than saw the confused look Yue gave him because he refused to look away from the front of the room. "Mr Stilinski," Harris called, and Stiles fucking hated that man's voice. "If you could find two brain cells to rub together, would you give us the answer?"

He curled his hands into fists, forced himself to grit out an answer. Wanted, more than anything, for someone to defend him. 

"Not bad, for someone of your less than desirable intelligence." Harris said and turned away.

Stiles liked being able to say that normally he was able to shrug off Harris' comments. Couldn't do that now with his brain spinning, repeating what Harris hadn't said, the underlying meaning. _Not good enough._ Couldn't shake that off, not with it being the base line of his thoughts this past week.

Yue was watching Harris walk around with wide eyes. "He can't talk to you like that." He said quietly.

"Never seems to stop him." he snarled back. 

"Why?"

"Well, my dad could have arrested him for accessory to murder, _10 fucking counts_ , but he didn't cause he felt sorry for the asshole. Now Harris takes it out on me that he wasn't arrested."

"10 counts?" Yue asked, and his eyes were wide.

"One of the Argents seduced him years ago to figure out how to burn down the Hale house. There were 11 people inside and only one got out."

"Mr Stilinski, is there something you'd like to share?" Harris called out. Stiles bit down on the comment that wanted out and gave a sharp shake of his head. 

Yue didn't speak up again, but he followed Harris with his eyes tensely, like a predator waiting to spring. It was nearly comforting. When they finally left, Yue shadowed him all the way to his next class before disappearing.

\----

_"-mascot."_

_Stiles ran. His side was burning and something warm was oozing down towards his waist but he couldn't remember what it was. He felt disconnected, like it wasn't really him running. The panic, rushed breathing, and rapid heartbeat felt far away. Behind him, too close, was a wolf's howl._

_"Leave hi-"_

_There were branches snatching at his clothes, trying to slow him down. But he couldn't, couldn't stop, had to keep going, something was chasing him._

_"-ot you!"_

_His legs didn't agree though. Suddenly he was on the ground, the woods thinner. He looked down, down, down, to his side, weird how far away his body seemed._ Oh _. That was blood. That was his blood, wasn't it? He pressed a weak hand against his side, a distant thought to keep the blood in filling his brain. There were five gashes along his side, not long but rather deep. Crap, he thought, he was going to need a new jacket._

_"Be right as rai-"_

_There was something bright approaching. He could just make it out as one big blob of yellow. "Come on, Batman, stay with me." A voice told him gently. Stiles thought about that muzzily. Only one person called him Batman._

_"'Rica?" he asked faintly. "Thought you left."_

_He was on his feet again, an arm around his waist as Erica urged him on, whispering in his ear. "I got you. I got you!"_

_He was back in the clearing suddenly, across from the Alpha woman, Derek at his side. Kali smirked. "Oh look, you brought your mascot." she said maliciously, smiling with all her teeth at him.  
"Leave him alone." Derek ordered, suddenly in front of him._

_Then he was running again, a wolf nipping at his heels._

_There were claws in his side, Kali's eyes bright and too close and he screamed._

Stiles woke up screaming. 

He flailed upwards, had a split second to realize he was at his computer chair, before his flailing had him meeting the ground. He groaned, rolling over onto his back. "Shit." he breathed, and pressed on hand against his side, where his shirt covered his scars.

Kero was suddenly hovering in front of him, eyes wide. "Stiles? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He assured. "Nightmare." he sat up, eyed his toppled computer chair. "I fall asleep there?" he asked, rolling his tense shoulders.

"I guess so. You were still up when I went to bed." Kero said, still fluttering nervously.

Before he could say anything, his door slammed open and his dad appeared. Kero froze and dropped to the ground in his best impression of a toy. "Stiles?!"

"I'm fine." he said quickly, standing up too quickly. "Just, a bad dream. That's all."

His dad kept eying him for another minute, then sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Alright. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm great. Just... go back to sleep. I'm gonna." he said, even though it was a lie. He was not going to get anymore sleep tonight.

His dad nodded briefly before stepping forward and hugging him tightly. Stiles relaxed into it quickly with a relieved sigh, almost not letting go when his dad stepped back. He pasted on a smile and waited until his dad left to drop it. He glanced down at Kero, who was sitting up and rubbing his head. "You sure your okay, kid?"

"I'm sure. I'm just... gonna head to the bathroom." he said and escaped.

In the bathroom, he leaned back against the door and tried to breathe. His scars ached and he pressed one hand against them with a groan. He'd been in the woods with Derek to investigate the Alpha Pack's new murder. Kali had been waiting for them, had been the first to call him "mascot", had taken great pleasure in burying her claws in his side.

He'd gotten separated from Derek in the ensuing chase. He'd only gotten out of the woods because Erica had finally come back and found him bleeding out while she was tracking Derek. Deaton had managed to patch him up when she'd dragged him in. He'd been left with nothing more than a few scars and some new nightmares that he'd thought he was starting to get over.

He stayed in the bathroom for a while and never went back to bed.

\----

The next day was mostly quiet, all the way up until the end. He was leaving lacrosse, quickly double checking his English notes with Danny, when they passed the secondary equipment room. It was Danny uncharacteristically stumbling that even made him stop. He was in the middle of asking Danny what was wrong when a loud crash from inside the room made him pause. "Did something fall?" he wondered and went to open it.

Danny grabbed his wrist to stop him, smiling widely. "Let's let Coach handle it." he said and nodded towards the exit. "Come on."

Stiles went willingly, almost didn't catch the odd, sweet flower smell around the room. He found Yue waiting at his Jeep, but the man was looking elsewhere, eyes narrowed on the building he'd just left. Danny paused when he saw Yue then gave him and tight grin and walked away, still side-eying Yue the whole way.

Stiles approached Yue, mind spinning. "There's a Card in there, isn't there?" he asked. Yue nodded. Stiles sighed and threw his bag into the car, snatched his key off. "Come on then." he said and headed back. 

They managed to slip into the equipment room unseen. Stiles was closing the door, double-checking that no one was around, when Yue called out a warning. He turned and managed to duck just as a lacrosse ball slammed into the door where his head had been. He skittered away from the door, eying the ball as it worked itself free from the hole it had made. "What the hell?" he snapped.

"It's JUMP." Yue said. "He's possessed the equipment."  
"All of it?"!" he asked in startlement and spun to see the other equipment, the pads, the sticks, and the rest of the balls, all starting to shake and raise up. "Oh hell." he muttered, and quickly channeled magic to his Key. _"Release!"_

He managed to grab the staff in time to escape the charging equipment. He danced around the room, trying to avoid getting turned black and blue. "Why aren't they going after you?" he shouted when he saw Yue standing unharmed in the middle of it all.

"JUMP is under WINDY, which is a moon Card. They wouldn't hurt me any more than a sun Card would hurt Kero." Yue explained, watching him scramble around. "Ah." Yue said, catching his attention. Yue pointed at where a streak of pink was dashing away. "That's JUMP's main body."

Stiles snarled and dashed after it, eyes widening when he realized it was heading for the door. He snatched out a Card quickly. _"WOOD!"_ Long, thick vines flooded out of the face of the Card towards the door and twined together to create a barrier in front of the door.

JUMP paused and turned to look at him. Stiles thought quickly and twisted the spell he'd used for WOOD. _"Bind it."_ he ordered, watched as the vines shifted then spread out quickly, creating a barrier around the room before plunging inwards. JUMP managed to avoid the first wave of vines coming after it.

Stiles heard a faint rustling behind him and tugged on the magic in the vines closest to him, watched as they rushed towards him to block the equipment when it surged towards him again. Once he knew it couldn't get at him, he refocused on JUMP. WOOD managed to catch JUMP on the third surge, catching one of it's little paws and tugging it backwards into a full bind.

Stiles ran forward quickly and raised his staff. _"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!"_

The equipment fell down, lifeless, as JUMP dissolved into a Card. After a thought, the vines disappeared too and WOOD returned to his hand. "That was fun." he muttered quietly.

Yue approached and held out a pen for him. "Thanks." he said. "Come on, lets get out of here."

As they walked out, Stiles slipped the staff back to its false form and replaced WOOD. He was in the process of writing his name on JUMP, glancing up every so often so he didn't stumble, when he saw Danny walking towards him. He quickly slipped the Card into his pocket, pasting on a grin.

Danny paused briefly when he saw them and Stiles caught him slipping something back into his pocket. "What are you doing here?" Danny asked. "I thought you'd left."

"I left something in my locker." Stiles said quickly, very aware of his empty hands. "Have you met Yue? This is Yue. He takes Bio with me. He's new."

Stiles watched Danny glance warily at Yue, then back at him, then finally behind him down the hall. Stiles glanced back as well, saw nothing but the half open door to the equipment room. Finally, Danny turned towards Yue and held out a hand, smile tight. "Danny Mahealani."

"Yue Tsukishiro." Yue took the hand, didn't smile. Stiles glanced between the two unsurely.

"It was nice to meet you officially." Danny said and turned a slightly less tense smile onto Stiles. "I'll see you Monday." He said, then walked away.

"That was weird." Stiles said, watching him walk away.

Yue placed on hand on his arm. "Come. Kero will have sensed the new Card and is probably worried."

"He should be! JUMP nearly brained me a few times." he grouched and rubbed his head, following Yue to his car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I've heard several of you haven't actually seen CCS, if you have any questions you can check [here](http://ccs.wikia.com/wiki/Cardcaptor_Sakura_Wiki) at the CCS wiki. Or you can shoot an ask over at my [tumblr](dreamedge.tumblr.com).


	4. My Nightmares are Here, Help Me to Sleep

The next week was quiet. No more Cards appeared, and if Stiles passed any during his day that he didn't notice, neither Guardian mentioned them. Stiles trained, tried hard to learn to sense Cards as more than a passing impression, but made little- extremely little- progress. 

He and Kero were getting along great, had matching appetites and senses of humor. Despite Kero being in the body of a toy, his behavior bordered on parental at times. Kero frequently helped him around the house, kept him focused on homework when his ADD acted up. Yue was different, more complicated. Most of the time, Yue seemed to like him, dealt with his quirks with patience and a quiet amusement. At school, Yue acted almost like a bodyguard, running interference whenever he thought the wolves were getting too close. However, Yue also barely spent any time at the house, frequently leaving soon after Stiles got home to avoid the Sheriff. Whenever Stiles used magic, however, Yue became cold, clinical. Stiles got the overwhelming feeling of being judged and sometimes, but thankfully for his nerves not all the time, found lacking. Yue also never spent anytime at the house, frequently leaving as soon as Stiles arrived after school and then meeting up with him at school the next day. Kero said Yue was keeping an eye on the more dangerous Cards.

Stiles' nightmares were increasing. It was becoming a common occurrence for Stiles to sleep slumped over his computer desk, drooling on class notes and magic research, only to wake violently, sometimes screaming. He was starting to lose sleep again. It made him feel like he was back at war with the Alphas. He was quickly getting reacquainted with all the reasons he hated Gerard, Kali, and Peter. And Derek was rapidly being added to that list every time he had to relive being called Scott's pet.

Since he no longer hung out with the Pack, Stiles had a lot of free time. When he wasn't practicing magic, he spent most of his time at the station with his dad. He'd taken to grabbing lunch on the way to the station from school. Yue usually left him alone there, apparently trusting him into the hands of the police. Stiles figured he should probably tell him about that time Matt had killed everybody, but the two Guardians already seemed to think Beacon Hills was some sort of Hellmouth without Stiles adding his input.

"You're here again?" The Sheriff asked when Stiles shuffled in, clutching takeout and his book-bag slung over one shoulder.

"Ah, come on, dad, we're having family bonding here!" he protested with a grin, dropping the food on the desk. He took an almost perverse amount of joy at the disgruntled expression his father made when the Sheriff discovered his salad.

"Well, it's occurred to me that we've been having a lot of family bonding lately. Why don't you go have some bonding with your friends and leave me alone for once?" The Sheriff complained but his tone was amused. 

Stiles smiled wide, unrepentant. "How am I supposed to keep track of your diet if I don't feed you myself?" he asked. The Sheriff groaned. They continued in silence for a few minutes, Stiles pulling out his history book and balancing it on his knees as he did the worksheet, occasionally shoving a few curly fries in his mouth.

"You know," the Sheriff said thoughtfully. "The more I think about it, I realize Scott hasn't been over in a while. Something going on between you two? Just a few weeks ago, seemed the whole lot of you were taking over my living room every night."

"Oh my god, that was one time!" Stiles objected. He smiled at the memory. About a month ago, before there had apparently been a Pack wide decision that he wasn't cutting it, everyone had taken to randomly invading each others' houses. The time it had been his house had culminated in a marathon of _The Mummy_ movies and a huge dinner consisting solely of popcorn, chips, and absurd amounts of soda. All of the younger Pack members had shown up, even Allison, although since Derek and Scott had't officiated the deal with the Hunters yet at that point, she wasn't technically part of the Pack. The Sheriff had come home late that night, after they'd all passed out, to find them sprawled over every piece of furniture in the living room. Thankfully, he'd taken it with good humor. (More thankfully, Derek had decided not to come, as he'd been looking over conditions for the treaty).

"Still, been a while since I seen Scott or any of the others."

Stiles didn't answer for second, then tried to sound light-hearted when he said. "Yeah, well, we've had a lot of homework. Everyone's been pretty bogged down."

"Really?"

"Yep!" he said brightly, refusing to lift his head from his history book.

"Funny that, considering you were all doing your homework together at the beginning of the year. Yet right now, you're working with me."

"Drats, foiled again." he intoned, still trying to aim for joking, but aware his voice sounded hollow. "I'm actually just secretly trying to steal all your work again." He'd actually been caught doing that during the mess with the Alphas. It hadn't been fun, it hadn't been several shades of tense and uncomfortable.

"You two having a fight?"

"...Yeah." 

"Well, don't worry too much. Your arguments never last very long." The Sheriff assured him.

Stiles smiled tightly, bit down on the thoughts that wanted out. "Yeah, sure. No worries." He refocused on his work, worrying the pencil eraser between his teeth so he didn't blurt something out. He managed to get through the rest of his history homework and most of his Bio when he got a text. Kero was using one of his old phones for when they needed to talk. Kero had texted him a grocery list; it was quite extensive. He sighed briefly and thought for a moment before realizing that yes, between the two of them, they probably had emptied out the frig.

"That from Scott?" His dad asked.

"Nah. It's a reminder. I was planning to go shopping on the way home." he lied. He wondered at the fact that he didn't even feel that guilty about lying anymore, about how easy they came to him these days. He shrugged it off and started to pack up. "I'm pretty much done anyways. Just some science left. I'll head out and do that now before I forget again."

"Be careful." His dad ordered. 

Stiles smiled. "I'll see you at home!" he said brightly and jogged out to his Jeep.

It was a short drive to the store. He jogged inside, scanning the list Kero had sent him. Of course, because he wasn't looking where he was going, he ended up running straight into someone. He stumbled back with a groan, clutching his phone tighter on reflex. "Shit, shit, sorry, my fault." he said quickly and looked up.

It was Allison. 

He froze in surprise, mouth dropping open. Despite going to school with him, Allison had managed to avoid him with the same single-minded determination as the rest of the Pack. It was surprising, since Allison had only just started associating with the Pack again a few weeks ago. She'd refused to even look at him sometimes, though her expression always held more guilt than the wolves. 

"Stiles!" she called, startled, carefully juggling a few plastic bags. She was looking around quickly, expression uneasy and faintly ill. She looked trapped.

Stiles grit his teeth and smiled as wide and bright as he could manage. "Argent." he said politely before turning to move around her.

He heard a brief, heavy sigh behind him before Allison turned and called after him. "Stiles, wait!"

He did think about not stopping, he did. He didn't want to deal with her, or the Pack, or any of it. But there was still a part of him that _needed_ to know why, what he'd done wrong. And a bigger part than that that sought even the smallest form of acceptance from the Pack. So he stopped, need outweighing want, and turned around. "Yes?" he asked, and put as much annoyance into his voice as he could. 

Allison gapped at him for a minute, looking quite like she didn't know what to say now that she had his attention. "I just, I wanted to say..."

"What?" he asked, couldn't keep his voice from getting sharp.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" he repeated. He laughed, short and disbelieving, harsh even to his own ears. Allison flinched. "I fought a war for you guys.” He hissed, tried to keep his voice from rising like it wanted. “All I got from it were scars, nightmares, and a shit ton of PTSD, but I did it. And you all left me. You left me alone, just when I was starting to get better. I've lost all my friends. You haven't _even_ looked at me in a week and a half. But thank god! You're _sorry_."

"Stiles... What do you want me to say?" she demanded. "What could possibly make this easier?"

" _Take me back_!" he snarled. Allison's eyes dropped; she refused to look at him. "And if you can't do that, than think about this." he said and couldn't keep his voice from getting nasty. "I'm gone now, and so is Lydia, and you're the only human left in the Pack. But here's the thing; I have been in this from the very beginning, before you even knew werewolves were real. I have bled for them, I have nearly died for them, while you were busy stuffing them full of arrows. So why is you're here and I'm not? I'll tell you: because your dad's deal says that the wolves need a watcher."

"I'm Scott's girlfriend." Allison protested.

"You've known him for a year!" he snapped back. "I've known him since we were in diapers! Don't think that your relationship is going to protect you. It's done little good for me."

Allison stared at him for a minute then said, hesitantly, "You're angry, you have every right to be, and you're lashing out."

"Yes, well, I suppose you'd know all about that." he said nastily, then all but marched into the grocery store, leaving Allison behind.

He marched through the aisles for a few minutes, not even focusing on buying anything, just trying to shake off the anger that rattled across his bones. He wasn't sure what he was angrier at: Allison for trying to do whatever she thought she was going to accomplish, or himself, for giving away how badly he wanted back in the Pack, despite everything.

By the time he'd cooled off, he'd lost a good fifteen minutes and one of the employees stocking the shelves was giving him nervous looks. He scrubbed one hand through his hair angrily before forcing himself to take deep breaths and marched back towards the doors to grab a cart. He was still upset, drumming his fingers against the handle rail rapidly, barely paying attention to what he was throwing in the cart. 

He was in the cereal aisle, trying to decide if he really wanted more Coco Puffs, when he heard a giant clamor from the next aisle over. He blinked in surprise and put the box back on the shelf. When he pushed the cart out of the aisle, he found the employee who had been giving him looks slumped over on the display he'd been stocking, asleep. The crash he'd heard had been the display coming down.

Several people were gathered around him, speaking worriedly. He paused, confused and wondering what to do, when he heard another thump behind him. He turned and found another person lying on the ground, also seemingly asleep. He approached cautiously and knelt down. Her pulse was good when he checked. He looked up in confusion in time to see another person, just coming out of aisle four, pass out. Then even further down, someone else.

He stood quickly and yanked his key off his neck, clutched it tight. He ran down the aisles, following the slow wave of people falling asleep. Behind him, the people still awake were beginning to panic. He ignored it, managed to catch one of the people just before they hit the ground. This one was snoring, already starting to drool a little on his arm. He grimaced and quickly set the man down. When he heard a giggle, he looked up.

There was a fairy. It was just bigger than his palm, and colored shades of white. There was a familiar star design on it's forehead and it was holding a tiny wand. It waved said wand towards him. He reflexively jumped away the minute he saw the little lights that fell from the wand. He went to release the wand then glanced back at the people who were still awake.

He jumped to his feet and ran for the produce, skidding to his knees behind the apples and yanking out his phone. He waited impatiently for Kero to pick up. _"Yo!"_

"There's a Card at the grocery store putting everyone to sleep but some people are still awake and freaking out. What do I do?" he demanded.

_"Eh, little silver fairy?"_

"Yeah."

_"That's SLEEP. Anyone without magic won't be able to see her."_

"Oh that's great but it doesn't do anything for when they see me waving a staff around at thin air."

He heard a quick chuckle. _"Don't worry, there's a defense mechanism hard-wired into the Cards. After you capture SLEEP, no one should remember a thing. Well, no one that gets hit by SLEEP at least."_

"Great. Thanks." He said quickly and hung up because he could see SLEEP approaching the produce. _"Release!"_ he said quickly and yanked WINDY out of his pocket. _"Bind it!"_

SLEEP evaded WINDY with a scary ease before focusing on him. It's smile was kind of creepy. "Shit!" he cursed under his breath. _"JUMP!"_ Little white wings appeared on the sides of his shoes and he immediately launched himself over the apple stand. He landed easily on the other side and took off in the other direction. SLEEP was faster than he'd expected and when he glanced over his shoulder, it was right behind him, only pausing briefly to knock out the still awake people they passed. He turned sharply down the aisle and spun back to face it. "Let's try this again. _WINDY!_ "

Though this time SLEEP got a little knocked about, it still managed to evade the main force of the attack. Stiles turned again and ran off. He took the next turn a bit too sharply and lost control of his legs, ending up crashing into a small table selling pastries. He groaned and forced himself to his feet. SLEEP was approaching quickly. "Fuck." he cursed and didn't think when he jumped up. He landed on top of one of the shelving units and quickly jumped to another one.

When he looked around again, he realized with a start that not only had he had at some led SLEEP on a merry chase across half the store, but it looked like everyone out on the main floor was asleep. He dismissed the thought when he realized he'd lost sight of SLEEP during his two jumps. He crept slowly across the top of one of the shelves and peeked over the edges. SLEEP wasn't in either of the aisles next to him, so he carefully leapt onto another, trying not to make a sound. When he peered down, he found SLEEP wandering down the hall in confusion, obviously looking for him as well. He knelt down and carefully pulled WINDY out. He paused briefly, considered using WOOD since WINDY hadn't managed the last two times, before he remembered that WINDY was considerably faster than WOOD. He kept the spell quiet this time, barely whispered out his order, then watched with relief as the wind quickly swept the surprised SLEEP up and bound it. 

Stiles jumped down and raised his staff. _"Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!"_ Once the Card was safely in his hand, he dashed towards the front of the store and rifled through a small plastic cup near the cash register, finally finding a working pen. He was just finishing the last letter of his name when he looked up and noticed the camera staring back at him. _Shitfuckdamn._ he thought harshly.

People over the store were already starting to wake up with quiet groans and mutters of confusion. Stiles didn't stop to think, instead snatching up a different Card. _"MOVE!"_ he hissed out quickly, focusing hard on what he wanted. There was a brief moment of pause, before the computer drive for the cameras he'd wanted appeared before him. He grabbed it and quickly vanished his staff, released JUMP, and ran back to his cart, trying to act as innocent as possible.

Kero had been right about the other people. No one seemed to remember anything odd had happened, accepted the overturned carts and downed displays with an eerie, if somewhat confused, calm. He shivered and hurried through the rest of his shopping before getting the hell out of there.

When he got home, both Guardians were waiting impatiently for him. "Well?" Kero asked, flying right into his face. Stiles ignored the question and pointed at both of them. "You two, groceries, now." he ordered before he continued his trek to the kitchen, carefully shuffling the groceries he was holding onto the counter. When he turned around, Yue was once again behind him. "Don't do that!" he hissed sharply, clutching his chest. 

"I'll put them away." Yue said, lips tilting up briefly. Stiles watched him for a second before nodding and heading to grab whatever Kero wasn't managing. He ignored Kero's persistent questions until all the groceries were put away. Then he pulled out SLEEP and handed it over. 

Kero cheered as he took it from him, waving it above his head in a weird dance. Stiles shook his head in amusement and also pulled out the computer drive he'd stolen. “Can you do something with this?” he asked, handing it to Yue. “Get rid of it or something, where my dad won't find it.” Yue nodded.

"I'm impressed." Yue said after a moment, turning the drive over in his hands. "SLEEP is one of the fastest Cards in the deck. You seem to have caught her without much trouble."

"It's really nothing compared to a werewolf."

"I've been meaning to ask about that." Yue said, turning to face him fully. "Your knowledge of the wolf Pack here seems rather intimate."

Stile went still for a minute, pressed his mouth into a thin line. He didn't want to discuss the reason he'd made his wish, wasn't ready to go over his massive failings. "I used to research weird shit for the Pack here. None of them are really good at research but I am and they knew it." he said quietly. Not the full truth, but not a full lie either. A lie of omission.

"But not any more?" Yue asked, carefully.

"Territory's stabilized. No weird shit to research anymore. No need for me." he aimed for casual, but his voice broke anyways.

Kero carefully set SLEEP on the counter and flew up to rest on his shoulder, butting carefully against his chin. "You alright?" Kero asked. He nodded quietly and didn't say anything else.

\----

_He was on the ground and his face hurt. Correction, everything hurt._

_He was standing then, in the weird shift of events that only occurred in dreams, and facing Erica and Boyd, an odd tug in the back of his mind telling him he was doing things backwards. The two were covered in blood, strung up by their hands, and the sound of electricity was heavy in his ears._

_He stared in horror, feeling blood slip down his chin from his busted lip. Except that wasn't right, no one had hit him yet._

_There was sound and he turned, found Gerard behind him. He reeled back, saw Gerard's hand raise-_

Stiles woke to someone slapping his cheek. His eyes snapped open quickly. He was in his bed, he realized quickly, he was in his bed and someone was standing above him, he didn't know them, he didn't know them, and they'd hit him. He lashed out, hands curled like the claws he didn't have, aiming for the long expanse of neck in front of him. His wrists were caught easily and the man leaned down, letting Stiles have a better view of the silver hair and blue eyes. "It's alright. You're awake now." the man told him.

He blinked. "Yue?" he asked breathless.

Yue released his hands and sat down. "Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"You're never here at night." he said stupidly, not answering.

Yue sighed. "When you panic, your aura begins to fluctuate. I could feel it across town." he explained, watched as Stiles bowed his head and tried to breath deeply. "This isn't the first time I've noticed it. You have a problem with nightmares?" Yue asked, not unkindly.

"It was getting better." he bit out.

Yue watched him for a long moment. "You say you did research for the Pack." Yue said slowly, like one who was beginning to put pieces together. "Yet surely in a turf war of any kind, all allies would have gotten involved. Even an untrained human like you."

"It's nothing really." He said quickly, not liking the way Yue was watching him. "Just a few scrapes really, nothing that bad. I even got a cool scar from it. Wanna see?" he asked and didn't wait for a response before he tugged his shirt off and pointed out the scars Kali had left. He hated them personally, didn't find them cool at all. Every time he saw them, he couldn't help but flash back to lying on the forest floor, watching his intestines slowly become his _out_ testines. So he didn't look at them, just kept a close eye on how Yue's expression went slack with surprise then tight and pinched with worry.

"May I?" Yue asked and held out a hand towards him. He nodded, dealt with the expert touches around the scars. Yue drew in a ragged, startled breath. "These were deep." he whispered in surprise.

Stiles tried to grin brightly. "Makes me look like a badass, huh?"

Yue pulled away and looked at him solemnly. "Does that help?" Yue asked.

"What?"

"Joking about it. Does that help you deal with the trauma?"

Stiles deflated and dropped his arms back to his sides. "Sometimes." he agreed after a few silent breaths.

Yue watched him for another minute, obviously rearranging whatever mental picture of Stiles Yue had formed previously. Then, briefly placing a gentle hand on Stiles' shoulder, Yue stood and crossed to his desk. He grabbed one of the notebooks laying there and flipped to a seemingly random page before approaching him. "This is wrong." he said quietly, sitting down and placing the book between them. "In most eastern systems of magic, wood is under water, not earth."

Stiles took the peace offering for what it was, glad he didn't have to talk about his nightmares, or the Pack anymore, and scuttled forward slightly. "Really?" he asked.

They talked like that for a few hours, until Stiles finally fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you all for the amazing response to this story. Those of you not following me on Tumblr probably haven't heard, but homers-wolf-pack drew a beautiful picture for the story which you can find [here](http://homers-wolf-pack.tumblr.com/post/52561342463/in-which-cardcaptor-stiles-im-gonna-leave-now).
> 
> I know some of you asked questions in the reviews last time that I haven't gotten around to answering. I want to apologize for that, every time I sat down to do it, something else came up. Later today I'll try and get around to answering what wasn't made clear in this chapter. Thank You.


	5. Don't Erase Me from Your Life, I Need You

Allison hadn't told anyone about their confrontation. At least, Stiles didn't think so, because no one in the Pack treated him any differently the next day. Not even Allison, who continued to pass by him silently in the halls without looking at him. Though at this point, Stiles was willing to acknowledge the Pack might not treat him any differently even if he did something drastic, like try to bash Scott's head in.

Stiles slid into his seat in English while entertaining that mental image. His grin was probably a bit manic, if the wary looks Danny and Erica were sending him were any indication. He waved goodbye to Yue when he noticed the Guardian lingering in the doorway. Yue nodded, looking bemused by his expression, and left.

Next to him, Danny shifted, his expression uneasy. "Tsukishiro..." Danny said quietly, hestitantly. Stiles made a questioning sound, digging out his notebooks. "You're aware about him, right?"

"Aware of?" Stiles wondered, not really paying attention.

Danny stared at him for a minute before frowning. "You don't know, do you?" Danny sounded confused, making Stiles look up. Danny was staring at him, looking perplexed. "I thought you knew considering, but you don't, do you?"

"I feel like we're having a conversation in which you expect me to read your mind, because you're only speaking in sentence fragments, but you know I can't actually do that, right?" Stiles asked, confused and edging into annoyed.

Danny shook his head briefly, like he was chasing away a thought, before looking up at him. "Listen, I think you should be careful around him. He's not... right."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked carefully, eying him. There was no way Danny knew what Yue was. Stiles may not have ever been particarily careful when talking about werewolves and magic in school, but everyone knew he was a nerd so he'd thought they'd brush it off. Danny wouldn't believe that Yue wasn't human, even if he'd overheard them talking about it, right? 

"I just... I think you should stay away from him."

Some of Stiles' worry faded away for anger, though Stiles couldn't say why. Danny's tone was kind, if concerned. Maybe that was what pissed him off, that Danny was concerned now but had never cared before; had reacted to him with an amused tolerance. "Danny," Stiles said, aware he was smiling, sharp and brittle and nothing close to warmth. "Fuck off."

Danny flinched slightly, then sighed, looking haggard. "Stiles, I'm serious." he said, low and gentle. "I know you probably don't want anyone telling you who you can and can't be friends with right now, but I don't trust him. I'm just worried about you."

"Really?" Stiles said. "Cause that's new. The worrying thing. Until a few weeks ago, you barely paid attention to me. You didn't give a shit. You're not concerned about me, you pity me and I don't want that."

"That's not true."

"Danny, we're not friends. You _don't_ get to tell me who I'm friends with." Stiles continued, ignoring him. "So do shut up and stop butting into my business." Stiles turned away from Danny, intent on ignoring him.

It worked. Danny didn't say anything to him for the rest of class, just occasionally side-eyed him, looking concerned and unsure. Stiles didn't like the silence, tapped anxiously against the desk and floor to fill it. He wished neither of them had opened their mouths; had kind of liked the easy way they'd worked together, even if it hadn't really bordered on friendship.

By the time the bell rang, he was barely keeping himself in his seat. He wanted out of the awkward tenseness he'd put himself in. He shot out of the room, didn't look at Danny or Erica and Boyd. By the time he'd made it to the cafeteria, he was seriously regretting snapping at Danny. He'd been meaner than he'd needed to be, had probably ruined one of the few aquinatinces he'd had left. He dropped into his now custamary seat and buried his face in his arms. 

"What's wrong?" Yue asked when he arrived.

Stiles lifted his head briefly, found Yue sitting down while juggling a tray of food and the thick book Yue was reading. Stiles sat up straighter and accepted the tray Yue passed him. "Thanks." he said quietly. "Danny doesn't like you." he told him.

"Really? I never would have guessed. What gave it away?" Yue asked, voice bland but with one eyebrow pointedly raised. 

He rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up." he grussed. "He wants me to stay away from you. I didn't take it well."

Yue looked like he was going to say something but the steady click of heels approaching them caught Stiles' attention. He turned, found Lydia approaching him with a determined expression, and ducked his head. "Of fuck. Hide me." he hissed.

"Stiles." Lydia said, stopping next to him and glaring down at him. 

"Stiles? Stiles who? I don't know any Stiles." he exclaimed loudly, burying his face in his arms again.

"Stiles, be serious." Lydia ordered. 

"Are you angry with me?" he asked hesitantly, looking up slightly. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Yue had gone tense, was watching Lydia with guarded eyes. He tried to subtly motion Yue to stand down. Guardian or not, he was sure Lydia could wipe the floor with him, and only 50% of his certainty came from the left-over remains of his crush on her. 40%.

"Not yet. I will be if you don't get up." Lydia smiled. Her lipstick was the bright red that made him worry she was to stab one of her heels through the eye of the next person that upset her.

Stiles shot to his feet immediately, waving a wary Yue down when the Guardian made to copy him. "Yes?" he said as brightly as he could.

Lydia rolled her eyes hard but motioned him to follow her. He started after. "Stay here, I'll be right back." he ordered Yue. Yue frowned tightly but sat back down, looking nearly mutinous.

Lydia kept walking, even after they exited the cafeteria. Stiles was going to say something before he realized they were walking outside of werewolf hearing range. That made him nervous and he started tapping his fingers against his legs quickly. Lydia gave him an annoyed look so he grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets; placed one hand against the Cards he had so he could feel their warmth.

Finally they stopped and Lydia turned back to him, crossed her arms, and raised one perfect eyebrow. "Um...yes?" he hedged.

"I don't know what's going on, but fix it, cause I'm getting tired of watching you all mope and avoid each other." Lydia said, and her smile was edged, annoyed and mean.

Stiles frowned. "Are you... you're talking about the Pack?" he guessed.

"Yes I'm talking about the Pack!" Lydia said, practically rolling her whole head with her eyes this time. "Whatever argument has you all avoiding each other, just fix it already. Watching you guys dance around each other is just pathetic."

"You... you don't...? No one told you?" Stiles asked, shocked, wheeling.

"Tell me what?" Lydia asked, and she was starting to look concerned. Stiles couldn't blame her, considering what had happened the last time the Pack hadn't told her relevent details.

"Lydia, I'm not in the Pack anymore. They kicked me out." he said, trying to hide his wince, cause that still hurt to hear.

"They kicked you out?" Lydia repeated, sounding dubious. Three weeks ago, he would have been the same and the knowledge made him want to kill something. He nodded, watched her expression crack slightly. "You must have gotten the wrong impression. How sure are you?"

"They haven't talked to me in three weeks sure." he said, watched her expression fall completely. "Little human pet sure." he added, because the words were still a quiet poison in the back of his head that he still couldn't shake.

"They said that?" Lydia asked and the shock was fading, replaced by something he thought might be horror, bordering on disgust. 

"Derek did. He was quite clear."

"They wouldn't." Lydia breathed, eyes going wide. "Why?"

"They don't need the human anymore." he said, like it was a simple thing, shrugging despite the pain.

"But they do." Lydia said. She was quickly working through her shock and moving into anger. "There must be another reason for this, something they didn't say, you didn't consider."

"No, not really." Stiles protested but Lydia wasn't listening to him.

"Maybe they're just trying to protect you." Lydia suggested but she sounded hesitant. "Used what they know would get you out of the way fastest."

"Yes, because that makes perfect sense." Stiles snarled, his tone going mean again. "Let's kick the breakable human out of the Pack when there hasn't been a problem in months, not three and a half months ago when my guts were spilling all over the forest floor." He stopped, took a deep breath. He'd already lashed out at Danny, didn't need to do it with Lydia since she seemed to be on his side. "They just... they don't need me."

"Yes they do." Lydia insisted, eyes wide.

"Obviously not." he said quietly. "Otherwise we wouldn't be here. I've thought about this. I've had three weeks to think about it. I thought, there had to be a reason, that Derek wouldn't be that cruel. But there's _not_. There was no trigger, nothing just changed all of a sudden. Everyone just... started drifting away. They don't need me anymore."

Lydia didn't say anything for long minute, chewing lightly on her lip as she thought. "I just... I don't buy them just kicking you out like that." She said. She straightened and walked past him, back towards the cafeteria. 

"Where are you going?" 

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Lydia called back. Then she paused and turned to stare pointedly at him. "Danny's going to apologize for whatever he said to you later. Accept it." she ordered before resuming her course.

Stiles watched her go for a minute, arms raised slightly in disbelief, before he rolled his eyes and followed her back. While Lydia marched over to the wolves and sat down despite their looks of confusion and shock, Stiles walked back to Yue.

Yue relaxed when he sat down, gaze still focused on Lydia. "She's scary." he said after a minute.

Stiles snorted as he opened his chocolate milk. "Just a little." he said sarcastically.

"What did she want?" Yue asked.

"Nothing. Just... stuff." he said.

"She knows the wolves. Is she with the Pack?" 

"No, she's uh... she's much too smart for them. She's going to win a Fields' Medal." Yue watched him for another minute, eyebrow raised, then sighed and turned back to his book.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to protect you when you only tell me half truths." Yue whispered. Stiles paused, watched his Guardian, but the man didn't look up. Stiles thought about saying something then just shook his head and returned to his own food.

Nothing happened for the rest of the day. Lydia left him alone, though from the brief glances he got of her between classes, she seemed agrrievated. Danny didn't approach him until after lacrosse practice. "Stiles," Danny said, slipping up next to him and leaning faux-casual against one of the lockers. "Listen, about what happened in English. I'm sorry. I was, I didn't explain myself very well."

Stiles closed his locker and looked over at Danny with raised eyebrows. Danny hesitated, thought over his words before he spoke. "It's the way Tsukishiro acts with you, the way he just leads, glares at anyone who comes close. I don't think you two realize how that looks from the outside. It's controlling, manipulative almost. And I know you're in a vulnerable place right now, emtionally, and that you're isolated-"

"Wow, wow, wow, slow down." Stiles cut down, one eyebrw arched, couldn't keep the disbelief off his face. "You think he's going to... what? Abuse me, that's where you were going right?"

"I've seen it happen before. You're kind of an asshole sometimes, but you don't deserve that."

"Yue wouldn't hurt me."

"Last month you would have said the same thing about Scott." 

Stiles paused. "Well, erm, yeah that's a good point." he scrubbed a hand over his face. "But the situation here, its different. I can handle myself."

Danny watched him for another minute then sighed. "Alright whatever. Just, I'm here if something goes wrong." Danny smiled encouragingly. Stiles smiled back and swung his bag on. 

"No problem, Danny boy." He hesitated for a minute. "Listen, I'm also sorry, for lashing out. I'm just, I get so angry lately. Not the first time I blew up at someone, almost did it to Lydia earlier."

Danny's smile widened, all dimples now. "I think you've earned the right to be a little angry."

Some of the tension in his chest eased. "See ya Danny!" Stiles left quickly after that.

He jogged out to the parking lot and clambered into his Jeep. Yue had already left, flown off to where ever he disappeared to after school. Stiles ignored it and headed for the police station. 

His father was already waiting for him, a bit of the desk cleaned off so Stiles didn't have to balance all his work on his knees. Stiles smiled brightly and plopped down. "Yo!" he greeted.

His father smiled back. "How's lacrosse practice?" he asked.

"Going great, considering I'm still on the bench." He yanked out his math homework, wincing when his Bio textbook fell out as well and landed loudly. "Sorry."

The Sheriff merely shrugged and turned back to his work.

They worked in silence for awhile. He worked through his math and Bio work, and was reading the assigned chapters of _Things Fall Apart_ when his dad sat back and stretched. Stiles glanced up and watched as the older man rubbed his eyes. "You okay?" he asked. His dad nodded. "Want me to grab you more coffee?" 

"Thought it wasn't good for me."

"It isn't. Especially the stuff here, that'll definitely kill you." He replied jokingly.

"Don't I know it. Use lots of sugar."

"Sure thing." he said brightly and hopped to his feet. He stretched himself, grimacing when he felt his back pop. "Be right back."

The coffee was lukewarm when he poured it. It made him laugh thinking about the face his dad would make. He dropped practically the whole bottle of sugar into it since it had all melted together and laughed harder. He was still chuckling to himself when he left the break room. The front doors opened as he was passing by and he looked over automatically. He jerked to a stop, coffee splashing against the edges of the cup dangerously, when he saw that it was Yue who had entered. Yue never came to the station. 

He ran over to the other boy hurriedly. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.

Yue didn't look at him, instead gazing around the station. "You should take the coffee to your father." Yue said coolly.

"How do you know that?" he asked. Yue finally looked back at him, expression cold and assessing. Oh fuck. Stiles knew that look. Yue only got that look during captures. "No. No, not here. Yue, my dad's here." he said quickly.

"It's not my decision where they awaken." Yue told him flatly.

"It's my DAD!" he shouted.

"Did you think no one else would be affected by this?" Yue demanded.

The screaming started then, as if to back up Yue's point. Stiles spun around, coffee falling from his hand, remembering the bodies, the _blood_ , from Matt's attack. He couldn't see anything nearby. _Further back, in the bullpen._ he realized. He started running.

The bullpen was nearly empty. There were only three people, all huddled in a circle around nothing. Stiles could see a pile of papers on the ground. "What happened?" he demanded.

Officer Owens, he thought it was, the new guy who'd been hired after Matt, turned to him. Stiles thought he saw tears. "Maria just disappeared!" he shouted, panicked.

"Disappeared? What do you mean disappeared?"

"She was here five seconds ago, and then she disappeared into thin air." Deputy Anderson said, a bit more calmly then Owens, though he looked pale around the edges.

The Sheriff entered then, gun drawn. "What's happening?" he demanded. 

The third person, Officer Daniels, stepped forward and held out her hands. Stiles froze, staring. He could see through her hands. "It started a few minutes ago." She said quietly, voice squeaking out. "Everyone else has already disappeared completely. He's the one that yelled." she nodded her head at Owens.

Owens, in return, scrambled away from her, tripping over a chair. "Stay away from me!" he shouted. 

"We have to stay calm!" the Sheriff shouted over him.

"I know what happened here! I don't want to die too!" Owens shouted.

"No one's dying!" his Dad shouted back.

"Why are you glowing?" Owens shouted, eyes going wider as he stared at them.

For a second, Stiles thought the man was talking about him. But no, he wasn't using magic yet, he wasn't glowing. He turned to look at Yue in confusion but no glow there. Stiles followed the Guardian's gaze to his father. His breath caught in his throat. The Sheriff's badge was glowing.

His father frowned at it, reaching up to take it off. Yue stepped forward and grabbed his hand to prevent him. "Don't." he said quietly. 

The Sheriff stared at him in confusion. "It's you!" Owens shouted suddenly, yanking at his gun. "You're the one doing this!" 

Stiles' eyes widened and he lunched forward, not sure what he intended, but Yue grabbed him around the waist before he could get far and pulled him out of the way. The gunshot was loud in the room. Before Stiles had time to even process that Owens had fired, the faint light from the Sheriff's badge grew into a sphere around his father. He heard a harsh crack as the bullet hit the sphere, hung there for a minute, then fell. "Relax." Yue whispered against his ear. "The Card caught in the badge is SHIELD. It will protect him."

Stiles all but collapsed into the hold in relief. Anderson stepped froward before Owens could take another shot and easily disarmed him, wrapping him quickly in a choke hold. Owens went down quickly.

"Unnatural shit going down in this town again." Anderson said quietly, shaking his head.

Stiles looked up after taking a deep breath. The quiet Officer had disappeared. "She's gone. Daniels is gone." he said, felt his father start in surprise.

"Alright listen, we have to stay calm." His dad ordered. "Anderson, you okay?" he asked. The Deputy nodded. "Alright, where did this start?" 

"Down near evidence lockup, I think." Anderson replied.

"We'll head there, see what we can find."

"Not happening sir." Anderson said sadly and held up his hands. Transparent, like Daniels had been. "Think I got about another three minutes."

"You sure?" the Sheriff asked.

"Yeah. Think I'll hang out here with Owens."

"He'll go faster than you." Yue explained. "Because he's unconscious.

Anderson shrugged and sat down at one of the desks. "I'll manage." he said.

"Alright. Stiles, any chance on you leaving if I ask?"

"No not a chance." Stiles replied.

"Well then, let's get going." The Sheriff ordered and quickly started walking out of the room. Stiles followed and by consequence, so did Yue.

A few steps and then the Sheriff glanced back at Yue over his shoulder. "You seem to know what's going on here."

Yue looked over at the man considering, before meeting Stiles' eyes. Stiles sighed heavily and nodded. "I do. This is the work of a magical construct, called ERASE. It does as it's name implies."

"And how do we stop it from... erasing?"

"Find its main body." Yue instructed, then turned to look at Stiles. "It's not combative. Find where it's hiding and then seal it. That is all that's required."

"What about everyone that's disappeared?"

"They will return. They won't remember these events, but they will be otherwise unharmed."

"And this thing?" the Sheriff pointed at his badge, still glowing away. "You called it a shield?"

"Yes, it is exactly that. It protects precious things. SHIELD is strong, but without a Master boosting its power, ERASE will be stronger. You are on a time limit."

"Well that's just great." the Sheriff sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What about you two? Why are you okay?"

"ERASE will not touch me." Yue said firmly. He glanced briefly at Stiles before adding. "And your son has enough magical power to resist ERASE for a time."

"We'll be talking about that once we solve this." His dad said, giving him a narrow-eyed look. Stiles grinned tightly. 

They arrived at the evidence lockup quickly. "What would this thing lodge in?" The Sheriff asked, staring at the rows of material.

"Something significant." Yue explained, leaning against the wall to watch them. "With a lot of meaning attached to it. Like with SHIELD, which attached to your badge because many people consider it a sign of protection. ERASE has probably lodged in something many people wish would just disappear."

"Well that's pretty much everything in here. We'll go piece by piece."

Stiles nodded and started on the far shelf. He really needed to work harder on learning to sense the Cards, cause right now he wasn't getting anything. Maybe three minutes later, Stiles shifted, confused, when something changed. Everything had gotten darker suddenly. "What?" 

"SHIELD broke." Yue informed him calmly.

He was right. The faint glow from the badge had disappeared. "Dad?!" Stiles shouted. He ran between the two shelves to where the glow had been, found his dad still working steadily. "Dad, you have to go!" he shouted, grabbing one arm and trying to pull him away.

"Its fine, Stiles." His dad said and shook him off. "It'll be fine." The man continued, turning to face him. His dad placed already fading hands on his shoulders and smiled. "Once you find it, everyone will come back. You'll be fine, you can do it."

It happened quickly then. Barely took a minute. His dad was there, and then he wasn't. "No, no no no no no." Stiles breathed, staring at the space where his father had been. "That was too fast." 

"Its because we're closer to ERASE now." Yue said calmly.

Stiles looked over at him, felt some of his grief and panic grow cold. "Bring him back." he ordered. Yue frowned. "I said. Bring. Him. Back." 

"That's your job, not mine." Yue told him.

"Its my father. He's the only thing I have left." Stiles walked over to Yue slowly. "Now bring him back!" 

"No."

Stiles punched him.

Yue barely reacted, merely touched one finger to his now split lip and looked back at him. "Was that necessary?" he asked, the wound already sealing closed.

Stiles tried to hit him again, but this time Yue caught his wrist. "Bring him back!" Stiles shouted, struggling against the hold. "I'll quit if that's what it takes."

"Don't be stupid!" Yue snapped back. "Did you really think your price was physical pain when you think so little about getting hurt yourself? If its all just another scar to you, then you obviously don't care enough for that to be the price!" Stiles went still then, staring at Yue in shock. "Calm down.” Yue ordered. “They will come back if you capture ERASE, but not if you take too long. The longer you stand here yelling, the less chance you will have of getting your father back." Yue shoved him away. "Now find it."

"Fine." He breathed, found that the cold panic and grief had transformed it anger. "I'll find it. And then I'm going to rip it in half." he warned. He took a brief moment of pleasure in the expression of shock on Yue's face before he turned away. He yanked the key off. " _Release!_ "

He gripped the staff and looked at Yue over his shoulder. "I can't sense this thing and I'm running out of time. Where is it?"

Yue stared at him for a long moment, eyes still wide. Then he took a deep breath and told him. "It's not other people influencing these Cards. It's you. SHIELD, going to your father, because you wanted him safe. ERASE here, because you want something gone." Yue explained.

"Why do what I want? I'm not their master until my name's on the Card."

"They were with you for several days. Some grew to like you, enough to follow your wishes. Though without someone to keep them in check, this what happens. Chaos."

Stiles turned away, tried to think. "The dream I had, with WOOD. She asked me what I wanted." he thought out loud. "I wanted my father safe. That's SHIELD. I wanted, I wanted the Pack safe, that was next." He thought for a minute. "The Alpha Pack case."

He jogged quickly down the shelves, easily found the thick box full of files from the crimes the police had managed to link back to the Alpha Pack. If he looked closely, he could almost see a faint green mist around the box. "Found you." he whispered. " _Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!_ "

Within seconds, the Card was in his hands. He could hear a faint groaning from where his dad had disappeared. He quickly shrunk the staff again and ran back, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when he saw his dad slowly sitting up. Yue motioned with his head that he was going to be outside. Stiles nodded, barely paying him any attention. "Stiles?" his dad asked, sitting up and looking around in confusion. "What happened?"

Stiles made himself take a deep, steadying breath. "You disappeared on me." He said as lightly as he could manage. "You know, the reason you have a break room is so that you don't have to hide in evidence lockup to get a nap."

His father nodded, accepting the story with the easy acceptance the Cards ensured. "Come on, help your old man up." Stiles did so and couldn't keep from pulling the man into a tight hug. "Hey wow, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Stiles whispered, backing off. "It's nothing. I'm just... it's nothing."

When they left, Stiles separated and found Yue waiting near the front doors. "Everyone's returned, and with no memory of what happened. As promised." Yue told him. The cold look in his eyes was gone and Yue was looking at him unsurely.

"I see that."

"What of ERASE?" Yue asked.

Stiles sighed. " I'm not going to rip it in half Yue.” he assured. “I was lashing out again, when I said that. I'm not getting any better about not doing that." 

Yue nodded, tension leaving his body quickly. "And what of SHIELD?" he asked.

Stiles scrubbed a hand over his face when he thought about that. "Well, its not exactly causing trouble where it is.” he said slowly. “So I think it can stay where it is.” He looked over, found Yue watching him with a knowing smile. “What about you?"

"I see no problem with that."


	6. I am Little, My Fears are so Much Larger Than Myself

 

The next few days were incredibly busy. After Erase came SAND, which was a relatively easy capture, except for the amount of time he spent dodging it. SAND was an aggressive Card, so WOOD and WINDY had a hard time containing it. Stiles had had to do some artful contortions when it rushed him, and even then it had still hit him, across the arms and his stomach when his shirt rode up; it took a few layers of skin with it when that happened. Stiles had more than a few deep abrasions that he had to be careful with by the time he caught it, the worst of them across his stomach.

Yue watched him carefully the next day, trying to limit the pain Stiles had to endure from his wounds. Yue eyed him critically as he sat down for lunch. "Are you sure you're alright?" Yue asked again when Stiles had to bite back another wince.

Stiles nodded irritably as he settled down. "I'm fine already." He huffed. "Just need some time to heal."

Yue watched him unsurely for a second longer then sighed. "Fine. I'll get you lunch. Don't get up."

Stiles nodded, paying more attention to the tight press of bandages across his ribs. He was so distracted that he didn't immediately notice Lydia sit down in front of him until she cleared her throat. He jerked up, fighting to keep his wince internal. Danny had been giving him concerned looks all through English every time he grimaced; he didn't need that from Lydia as well, who wouldn't let it go as easily as Danny had. "Um, hi? Can I help you?"

"I'm protesting." Lydia informed him calmly.

"Okay... what are you protesting?"

"The Pack's ridiculous treatment of people who've saved their collective asses." Her voice was light but her eyes were spitting fire and her smile bared her teeth in a vicious grin.

"Not talking to you either?" He asked, though he couldn't say he was surprised.

"After some rather choice words from Erica, no." Stiles took a brief moment to pray for Erica's safety, because he wasn't sure she'd escape the wrath in Lydia's eyes unharmed. "The whole Pack seems to have got on some anti-human shtick." Lydia continued. She glared at the Pack across the cafeteria. When Stiles glanced briefly over his shoulder, he found Erica sinking slowly into her seat, trying to hide beneath the table to avoid Lydia's gaze. He snorted in amusement.

Yue came back then. He eyed Lydia unsurely; Stiles had to choke down another laugh when he remembered Yue found Lydia scary. After a moment of thought, Yue merely took his seat next to Stiles without a word and handed Stiles his lunch. While Stiles dug in, Lydia turned a sharp smile onto Yue. "So, you're Tsukishiro. We haven't met yet. I'm Lydia."

Yue shook her hand with forced politeness. "Hello."

Stiles looked up briefly to watch them interact with amusement before returning to his food. He didn't look up again, ignoring the tenseness between the two, until someone sat down next to Lydia. He looked up in surprise and found Danny sitting there.

Danny smiled at him brightly, all dimples. "Looks like you've got a party going on over here."

Stiles laughed softly. "Not quite a party yet, but I think we're getting there."

"Joining us, Danny?" Lydia asked. Danny nodded. "Good. You can help me plan."

Danny visibly perked up. "Oh? Are we ruining someone's life? I love doing that."

"I thought you were nice!" Stiles exclaimed.

Danny made an amused sound but the look he gave Stiles was disbelieving. "You do remember the part where I was friends with Jackson right?" he asked.

"I always wondered about that." Stiles muttered to himself.

Danny snorted and glanced around briefly. Something caught his attention and after a second he turned a sharp smile onto Yue. "Well, well, you have an admirer."

Yue arched an eyebrow. "Really?" Yue asked, tone skeptical. Stiles kind of agreed with that tone. Had Yue even talked to anyone but him? Danny's smile was wicked as he nodded his head and pointed over their shoulders.

Stiles and Yue turned around at the same time, though Stiles did so more carefully, trying to avoid the pull of his wounds. Stiles' eyes locked on the Pack table in time to see Isaac grab Boyd's textbook right out of the other wolf's hands and try to hide behind it. Even over here he could hear the Pack laughing at Isaac. "Isaac?" Stiles asked, stunned. "Have you even talked to Isaac?"

Yue looked annoyed but not all that surprised. "No." Yue sighed heavily. "It's nothing. He'll get over it." Yue turned back around and flipped open his book.

"I don't know." Danny drawled, "Looks like a pretty powerful _attraction_ to me." Stiles didn't understand the emphasis Danny added but it made Yue snap his eyes up and give him a narrow-eyed glare.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked, looking between the two.

"Nothing." Yue assured, slowly pulling his gaze away from Danny to look at him.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "I miss not being the only straight person in a group." She mused to herself.

While Yue and Danny merely looked annoyed at the tension between them being taken as sexual, Stiles protested. "Hey! I crushed on you for like 8 years!"

Lydia gave him an indulgent look. "And for most of that you were asking Danny if he found you attractive. I though you'd already had your bisexual crisis. I definitely remember the hang-over from it."

"Oh fuck off." He said brightly, because that had been a good time. It hadn't been much of a crisis; Stiles had just kind of accepted it and moved on. They'd mostly just used it as an excuse to get really drunk and not have to think about the Alpha Pack.

Danny faked a hurt look. "You had a bisexual crisis and didn't invite me?"

"We weren't getting along at the time." Stiles assured. Danny nodded in an exaggerated fashion.

"Well, good to see you're perking up." Lydia said. Stiles smiled back as wide as he could manage. Lydia returned it briefly before she looked over at the Pack. Her smile turned wicked, the kind of smile that made him want to dive under the table for cover. "I'm going to make their lives a living hell." Lydia said calmly. "You're all going to help."

"We are?" Yue asked, eying her with trepidation.

Stiles shrugged. "Apparently." He replied, not honestly concerned.

It was the lightest he'd felt in weeks.

The rest of the day past quickly and happily. Between Danny and Yue,, he had a friend in nearly all his classes, though unfortunately he didn't share any with Lydia. His wounds continued to bother him, a low, constant burn he learned to ignore. As long as he didn't do anything to put too much pressure on the bandages, he was able to keep the wounds hidden.

Yue drove him home so he didn't have to fight with the gears and jostle his wounds. Stiles had stopped going to the station after ERASE; the less he saw his dad in uniform, the less he had to consider taking SHIELD away from him. He'd prefer to keep SHIELD just where it was for as long as he could manage.

Once home, Yue ushered him upstairs. "Take your shirt off." Yue ordered before retreating to the bathroom for the first aid kit.

Stiles sighed but did as ordered, stripping out of his two shirts carefully. A quick glance around showed his computer was on, but Kero was absent. "Kero?!" he called out.

There was a minute's pause then Kero flew into the room, carrying a bag of chips. "Yo, kid!" Kero greeted, flying over to his desk. "How was school?"

"Good." He replied enthusiastically. He tried for a brief moment to reach the tie on the bandages around his stomach, but it was at a bad place in his back. "Oi, Kero, help me out with this?" he requested.

Kero paused in munching on the chips and quickly flew over to help. Yue returned with the first aid kit and a wet towel as they were unwrapping the bandages. Stiles grinned. "Hey, Kero. Did I tell you one of the wolves has a crush on Yue?" he asked slyly. Yue stilled in searching through the box for new gauze.

"Really now?" Kero wondered, and there was a brotherly mischief in his voice.

Yue sighed as he straightened, holding the wet towel and a new roll of bandages. "Its just a moon attraction." Yue said. His tone was calm but his eyebrows were drawn together in a pensive frown.

While Kero started laughing manically at the words, Stiles was merely confused. "Moon attraction?"

Yue's expression turned sour. "It's the name for the phenomena that occurs when people with complementary magics are near a source of moon magic." He explained, but he didn't sound happy about talking about it. "It creates a feeling of peace, happiness. I've heard it described as a feeling of 'floating'. It's not unlike the feeling of a crush.

"Because werewolves also draw power from the moon in order to transform, the attraction would affect them even stronger then normal. It would make them more likely to trust me, to get along with me. Isaac is experiencing a more extreme version then the other wolves merely because he doesn't currently have a significant other of his own."

"Wait, wait. Isaac has a crush on you because magic?" Stiles asked in amusement, doing jazz hands.

Yue sighed heavily, giving him a look that spoke levels of how done he was with Stiles' antics. Stiles bit his cheek in order to not laugh and distracted himself with unwrapping the bandages on his left arm. "Yes. Like will call to like; such is the way of the magic. Isaac can work past it, if he finds reason to, as the other wolves already have without realizing it."

"This happens to him all the time." Kero finally managed through his snickering. "A lot of people are affected by moon attraction. He's used to people going gaga over him. He hates it." Yue frowned heavily at his brother, looking like he was contemplating smacking Kero right out of the air.

Yue shook it off though and approached. Yue started to clean the wounds, perhaps with more force then necessary as payback for the amusement Stiles had at his expense. Stiles yelped but bore with it. He'd given up trying to talk the two into letting him handle his own wounds.

Once the bandages were firmly in place, Yue began to repack the first aid kit, quickly jotting down a list of what they were running short on. Kero returned to munching on his chips and surfing the Internet.

"Stiles!" He jerked wildly when he heard his dad call out to him. The Sheriff wasn't supposed to be home for another hour yet. He flailed at the two Guardians when he heard his father coming up the stairs. Kero immediately went limb into 'Toy Mode' and Yue, holding the med kit to his chest, stepped back so he would be hidden behind the door when it opened. Stiles reached for his shirt but didn't have time to actually pull it on. He had a moment to be thankful the bandages at least covered his scar from Kali before the door swung open. "Hey Stiles, I- What happened?!" his father demanded, staring at the bandages.

Stiles sighed and finished yanking his shirt on, hiding the bandages. "It's just some friction burns from lacrosse practice." He lied. "The internet said I should keep them covered to prevent an infection."

His dad continued to stare at him disbelief. Stiles had a moment of panic when he realized Yue had tied the main set of bandages behind him again, where it was obvious Stiles couldn't reach. "Okay, right." His dad said eventually; Stiles tried not to flinch away from the disappointment in his voice. "Listen, Anderson made me take a break since its really slow right now. I'm going to be home for the rest of the day."

"Sweet." He said as brightly as possible. Nothing was wrong; he wasn't lying through his teeth and his father actually still trusted him. "I'll make sure to buy him a thank you present. More time with my dad." He grinned. "I'll make dinner."

His dad smiled. "I'd like that. I'll be downstairs in my study if you need me."

"'Kay." He watched his father walk downstairs before collapsing in his desk chair.

Yue stepped out from behind the door and Kero sat up with a heavy sigh. "I don't think he bought that." Kero said quietly, rubbing a paw over his head.

"Yeah, neither do I." Stiles agreed sadly. "He hasn't... really trusted me for a while. I had to run a lot of interference between him and the Pack. There were a lot of lies involved. Things were getting better now that the territory's stabilized." He smiled bitterly. "Guess I can say goodbye to that."

"You could just tell him the truth."" Yue suggested.

He shook his head. "No." He replied. "He'd want to be involved if he knew. If he got hurt helping me, well, I'm not good at handling him getting hurt."

"I remember." Yue said neutrally.

He smiled slightly, not bitter anymore, but not as wide as he'd managed at lunch. "Yeah well, I know what he'd say and..." he trailed off, thinking. His father would say he was too young to be handling this kind of responsibility. His father would probably be right, but Stiles couldn't handle hearing that he wasn't good enough in any way right now, even if that wasn't how his dad would mean it.

He was jolted from his thoughts when a rush of warmth flooded through him, followed by a feeling of unease and the sweet smell of flowers. He was on his feet before he'd realized it. "That feeling just now... that was a Card, wasn't it?"

"Eh, I'm impressed, kid." Kero said, grinned. "You're improving quickly."

He turned, equal parts proud and annoyed. "How many are in my house?" he demanded as he pulled his key free.

He didn't have a chance to hear the answer, or even release the staff. Before he could, something small, about the size of a fly, flew into his face. He had a second of surprise before that warm, sweet magic clamped around him and everything got very weird.

And very large.

Stiles stared around his room from his new vantage point and struggled to absorb what had just happened. He'd been shrunk. His life, what even.

He heard a giggle and looked up. There was a little girl, about the size he was now, in a white and yellow out with a kind of jester's hat, watching him from her place on his desk chair. The Card giggled again before turning and heading for the door in bounding leaps. "Hey!" he called and grabbed the key that had thankfully shrunk with him. "Release!"

Nothing happened.

He stared at the key for a second of stunned silence before trying again. "Release!" Again, nothing.

"Sorry, kid." Kero told him, flying down to him. Stiles stared, trying to fight off the feeling of dissonance. Kero was bigger than him. That was weird. "That's the problem with LITTLE. You can't use magic small."

"Then how am I supposed to catch it?" he snapped and glanced towards the door. LITTLE had already disappeared down the hall.

"You'll have to get big again." Yue said. He was leaning against the wall near the door; it hurt Stiles' neck how far he had to tilt his head in order to look at Yue's face. His expression held the familiar cold that always came during captures, but his lips were pressed together in the line that meant he was trying to hide his amusement. "To get bigger you're going to have to get in physical contact with LITTLE again."

"So I'm supposed to catch up with that thing, without magic, somehow grab it, and then seal it before it can shrink me again?" Stiles asked and groaned when both Kero and Yue nodded. "Great." He sighed and replaced the key around his neck. "Lets go find this thing before it whammies my dad."

He started what promised to be a very long walk to his bedroom door when Kero flew in front of him. "Want a lift?" Kero asked.

Stiles slumped slightly in relief. "Yes!" he said strongly and hurriedly climbed onto Kero's back. They quickly flew up to eye-level with Yue. "What about you, sourpuss?" Kero asked.

"I'll stay here. Best to not run into your father." Yue said.

"Right. Give a shout if it comes back this way." Stiles ordered. Yue nodded.

Kero flew out of the room, then hesitated in the hall. "Where do you want to start?" Kero asked.

"Bathroom, at the end of the hall. We'll work our way towards the stairs." Stiles decided after a moment of thought. They flew there quickly. A quick look around showed that while LITTLE wasn't there but obviously had been recently. The door to the linen closet, the shower nozzle, and the toilet seat had all been shrunken. "Next. Before it completely destroys my house." Stiles ordered.

They were exiting the bathroom when Stiles caught sight of LITTLE coming out of the master bedroom and heading for the stairs. "There!" he shouted, pointing. LITTLE froze and looked up at them before taking a giant leap over the railing to the first floor. Kero quickly flew after it.

They chased LITTLE into the kitchen, over the counter, briefly lost sight as they entered the living room, then finally, fully lost track of it when they went around the coach. "Damn." Stiles cursed. Kero quickly flew high to get to a better vantage point. "See it?"

Kero shook his head.

Stiles looked around carefully, glad the Card's bright yellow outfit would at least make it stand out in the earth-tones living room. He caught sight of LITTLE trying to sneak around the edge of the bookshelf that was near the archway to the hall. "There." He pointed out, trying to keep his voice down so as not to spook the Card again.

Unfortunately, Kero was a foot and a half of golden fur hovering in mid-air. When they dove for LITTLE, it didn't matter how sneaky they were trying to be; LITTLE noticed. The Card immediately started running. They followed, took the corner too sharp. Stiles grabbed fistfuls of fur trying to stay seated. When LITTLE started heading upstairs, Kero forgot about his passenger and started a near-vertical climb. Stiles immediately lost what was left of his balance and fell off, glad they hadn't gotten too high up before he'd fallen.

Kero paused, reminded of Stiles by the sudden loss of weight. "Go!" Stiles ordered. "See if you can't herd it back to the living room. I'll ambush it."

Kero nodded and resumed his chase. Stiles pushed himself up, wincing as he was reminded of his wounds. He headed back to the living room, placing himself just beside the archway so he could tackle LITTLE when it passed.

He stood there for a few minutes, shifting anxiously, when Kero flew back in, shoulders slumped. "I lost her." Kero muttered dejectedly. "She took a quick left under your dad's bed and was gone."

Stiles groaned, resisted the urge to start shouting in frustration. "Alright. Listen, we might have a better chance sneaking up on it if we separate. You start at the entryway, I'll start at the back-door, we'll work our way inward, then head upstairs if we don't find anything." Kero nodded his agreement and flew towards the front door; Stiles headed in the opposite direction. It took a truly depressing amount of time to get there at his size.

He didn't find LITTLE. However, as he was passing his dad's study, he heard his name. He paused, could just make out the sound of his dad talking on the phone, and, after a moment of consideration, gave up his search for LITTLE to press against the door.

"-getting worse, Melissa." He heard. Stiles winced, hoped Scott wasn't home to overhear. "He's- no, no, don't tell me to calm down! Its happening again!" His dad sounded frantic, making Stiles worry his lower lip. There was a moment's pause, then Stiles heard his dad sigh. "I know... but I thought things were getting better, but- his nightmares are back; I keep waking up in the middle of the night hearing him screaming. I can't remember the last time either of us got a full night's sleep."

Stiles sat down, a heaviness settling in his heart. He hadn't thought he'd woken his dad with his nightmares. Apparently, he was wrong.

"He's started sneaking out again. He's lying again." His dad continued. The disappointment in his voice shot right through Stiles. He swallowed thickly. "Yes, I know- I know teenagers lie, Melissa! But he got hurt! He got hurt and he lied about it! Again!" Stiles flinched away from the door briefly. "God, you didn't see him. He's practically covered in gauze."

There was a long moment of silence after that. Stiles didn't breathe through it, trying to hear what Ms McCall was saying even though he knew it was a lost cause. "Its not just the injuries." His dad said finally. "Something's got him scared. He spooks at every loud noise, he practically jumps out of his skin whenever someone sneaks up on him. He doesn't like me out of his sight.

"He doesn't go out at all. He's at home or school if he's not doing shopping. He used to come by the station but that stopped this week. Something freaked him out at the station but he won't talk about it. He doesn't talk to anyone anymore. All those kids we used to complain about invading our houses, I haven't seen them in a month. Not even Scott comes over anymore."

There was another moment of silence as Melissa spoke again. Stiles sat there, punched through by the fear he could hear in his dad's voice. He'd done that, he'd put that there. He'd thought he'd been careful about hiding his problems, that his dad hadn't noticed how bad everything had gotten.

"Haven't heard anything from Scott about it huh?" his dad said, and he sounded defeated. "I don't know how to get him to talk to me. He's depressed and I don't know how to help."

There was another silence, but Stiles was more concerned with fighting back tears than wondering what Melissa was saying. It was his fault his dad sounded like that. He'd had his chance to step out of this supernatural shit, leave it behind and try to repair his relationship with his dad. Instead he'd taken the stupid deal, put the whole town in danger without thinking about it, had only been wholly concerned with himself.

"I'm losing him, Mel." His dad said finally, voice so quiet Stiles almost didn't hear him. "I'm losing my son and its killing me."

"You killed your mother and now you're killing me."

Stiles started crying, deep, heavy sobs that rattled his chest, the kind that ached. He couldn't hear his dad anymore, wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He wanted his dad, wanted to hear his voice and curl up in his arms where it was safe. But he didn't want to hear his dad sound like that anymore.

It was getting hard to breathe and his heart was pounding in his ears. The sound was everywhere, he couldn't get out, it was closing in on him, he wanted out, make it stop, make it stop.

A soft warmth suddenly enveloped him. It felt like LITTLE, almost, except LITTLE had clamped around him and forced him to follow. This, this felt heavy, but it was a good weight, one that grounded him and made him feel like he could actually do something.

Stiles took a deep, slow breath, reliefed with how easy it came to him, and opened his eyes. LITTLE was standing before him, watching him with a sad expression. The Card stepped forward before Stiles could do something and engulfed him in a hug. He tensed but soon hugged back, burying his face under the tails of the jester hat.

Stiles grew.

He sat outside his dad's study. Normal-sized now, for a second more, just breathing and letting the last few tears fall. Then he looked down at the Card sitting patiently in his palm. "Do you want to run off, restart this whole capture and finish it normally?" he asked softly.

LITTLE thought about it for a minute, expression heavy with it. (It was adorable.) Then the Card shook its head and settled more securely in his hands. Stiles smiled weakly and stood as carefully as possible, LITTLE held to his chest protectively. He walked quickly to his room; found Kero hovering anxiously at the foot of the stairs. "Stiles! Are you alright? Your aura spiked but then it got quiet again really quickly! ... You're big again!"

"Yes, yes, Kero, shh. Don't let my dad hear you." Stiles whispered quickly, then smiled and held out his hand. LITTLE grinned and waved. Kero's expression eased, relief taking over.

Stiles quickly jogged up the stairs, found Yue waiting with a pinched expression. "What happened? Your aura spiked." Yue demanded.

"Nothing." Stiles assured, letting LITTLE jump form his hand to the desk. "I found LITTLE near my dad's office." He yanked his key off before they could ask anymore questions. "Release! Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!"

As he signed his name at the bottom of the Card, Kero flew closer. "Stiles, seriously, what happened? I was coming to help, but then _she_ appeared and I-"

"I'm go to see what I can make for dinner." Stiles interrupted quickly and escaped down the stairs.

Kero watched him go. "I hate when he does that." Kero muttered. "I hated it with Clow and I hate it now." Yue made an agreeing sound next to him.

Kero flew down until he was hovering above the LITTLE Card. "After Stiles' aura spiked, I felt a Card again, but it wasn't LITTLE. It was her, wasn't it?"

Yue glanced over at him and nodded. "It was HOPE, yes. She never went to sleep like the others. She must have felt his distress and reached out to him."

Kero didn't reply for a few minutes, merely starred down at LITTLE contemplatively. "Stiles didn't notice her?"

"Apparently not. She must have pulled away before he could."

"If she's not sleeping, what's she doing?"

"What Stiles asked of her."

\-----

Stiles was running through a list of what he could make for dinner when his dad came in. The Sheriff was rubbing at his face tiredly. His eyes looked bloodshot.

Stiles' heart pounded as he turned back to the frig. "Hey, dad, I was talking to my Bio partner, that new kid, Yue. He's coming over tomorrow to study with me." He said casually, like he hadn't just overheard his dad worrying about him becoming isolated. It wasn't even a lie either; he could totally force Yue into studying with him.

He heard his dad stop walking and when he looked over his shoulder, his dad's expression was relieved. Stiles closed the frig and quickly crossed over to him, yanking him into a tight hug. "I love you, dad." He said quietly, burying the words in his dad's shoulder.

"Love you too, son."


	7. In Silence and Shadow, My Anxieties Grow

After LITTLE, things settled down again. The Cards seemed to be awakening in bursts, three or four at a time before they settled down again for a week. The abrasions from SAND were beginning to heal; his arm had faded to a light pink, though his stomach was still a mess of scabs.

Lydia and Danny continued to sit with him at lunch. Though the antagonism between Yue and Danny persisted, Stiles found it easy to ignore and merely enjoy the company.

Lydia stayed true to her word. The Pack suddenly found their things missing; their school work, their house keys, once Lydia somehow managed to get string Erica’s purse up on the flag pole. Someone had graffitied the gym; Stiles was sure it hadn’t been Isaac, but nevertheless Isaac was the one who got in trouble for it. (Stiles suspected Danny might have orchestrated that particular trick.) Someone flattened the tires of Scott’s bike. 

Stiles forced Yue into regular appearances in front of his dad, made sure to regale the man with stories of how Lydia had nearly made her math teacher cry or how Danny had kicked ass at lacrosse practice. The worry lines around his dad’s eyes began to ease as the days went by, his smile got brighter every time he came home and found Yue was “visiting”.

Stiles was currently spending his lunch in the library, because it was impossible to try to make sense of Chinese philosophy and magic theory while Lydia was plotting someone’s demise in front of him. Yue had stayed in the cafeteria on Stiles’ insistence that he needed someone to ensure Lydia didn’t go overboard. He was alone, surrounded by looks when he felt it: a burst of warm, sweet magic.

He jerked up from the book he’d been reading and looked around the library. He couldn’t see anything unusual. The library wasn’t empty but it also wasn’t particularly full. There were only a few students milling about, working on projects. The librarian and a student aid were re-shelving books. The magic was slowly fading as he searched. It wasn’t until the magic disappeared completely that Stiles realized what had changed, turned strange.

The library was silent.

Not the normal level of library quiet; a surreal silence. Gone was the mutterings of groups working together, the whisper of turning pages, even the quiet hum of the computers. 

He jumped when the sounds suddenly started again, the Card’s presence disappearing. He quickly gathered his things, ignoring the confused mutterings from the others in the building. He rushed out and headed for the cafeteria at a fast pace.

He found Yue in the snack line, which was strange as the man refused to eat, but Stiles wasn’t going to begin to wonder at the man’s mind. He approached quickly, only to pause when he saw who was standing behind Yue in line. It was Isaac, who was paying more attention to Yue then the sweets he was supposedly buying. As he got closer, he noticed Isaac’s nose was doing the twitching thing it did when Isaac was trying to catch a scent discreetly. It made him look like the woman from Bewitched. Stiles sighed when he realized the werewolf was trying to unobtrusively sniff Yue. He had definitely spent too much time with the Pack if he no longer thought sniffing people was creepy.

When he was next to them, he calmly placed his hand over Isaac’s face and pushed him back a step. “Being a bit obvious there, Romeo.” He said, ignoring Isaac’s perplexed look. For a moment, he felt like he was back with the Pack, when they’d been teasing Boyd about being a closet romantic. It was just so easy to slip right into Isaac’s space, as if he’d never left, as if he still had an open invitation to Pack cuddle times. He removed his hand the second the thought sunk in, that he didn’t have that invitation anymore, and met Isaac’s dazed, stunned eyes. _Abort! Abort!_ His brain screamed while his heart clenched painfully in his chest.

He shook it off, instead turning and grabbing Yue’s arm. “Lets go.” He ordered, pulling Yue out of line. “We need to talk.”

“But I wanted to get something for Kero.” Yue protested, though he didn’t struggle to remove Stiles’ grip or even to stay in line.

“You can get something for him tomorrow.” Stiles assured, leading them out of the cafeteria.

“Impossible. By then I’ll have been reminded of how obnoxious he is and all brotherly affection will have disappeared.”

Stiles laughed, couldn’t help it. Once he managed to get control of himself, he tugged them out of the main lunch crowd milling about, until they were semi-secluded from others and no one would be able to overhear. “There’s a Card in the school.” He told Yue.

Yue nodded, not looking surprised. “More than one actually.” He informed. “Though the one you encountered should be SILENT.”

“Wow, wow, wow, back up. Did you just say _more than one_? How many are there?”

“SILENT is the only one that’s active at this time.” Yue said sincerely.

Stiles stared at him in disbelief. “That was not what I asked. That was a complete non-answer.” He said heatedly. “You’re not going to tell me at all, are you?” Yue shook his head. Stiles sighed and dragged a hand through his hair as he thought. “Well, I suppose I could use SLEEP and seal it real quick.” He thought out loud.

Before he could, someone called out to him. “Stiles!”

Stiles turned and found Lydia and Danny approaching him. “Or not.” He muttered, watching as the two weaved through the crowd to them. “Hey, Lyds!” he greeted back. “What’s happening?”

Lydia’s face was split into a wide grin. Following a few steps behind, Danny’s expression was smug. “You shouldn’t have skipped lunch today; you missed it!” She said around her laughter. “Danny and I were throwing our lunch away, right? Well, to get to from our table to the trash, you have to pass Scott’s table…” Lydia cut herself off as she dissolved into fits of laughter.

“Oh god.” Stiles breathed, mouth stretching wide as his mind filled in the possible endings to the story.

Danny finished when it became obvious Lydia was more concerned with breathing through her laughter. “What she’s trying to say is that your clumsiness has obviously rubbed off on me, because as we were passing Scott, I tripped, and what was left of my spaghetti went all over his back.” He said solemnly.

Stiles cracked, bursting into laughter. “God, I wish I could have seen his expression.” He said brightly.

“Well, I think he’s still washing it out of his hair if you want to go laugh at him.”

“Better make it quick.” Lydia advised, getting herself under control. “Bell’s about to ring.”

“Nah, I’ve got…” Stiles stopped, bit down on the thought that he had to go after a Card, and glanced sideways at Yue. The Guardian was expressionless. “I’ve got you guys to entertain me.” He finished in a hurry.

Both Lydia and Danny gave him suspicious looks. Lydia shook her head and started walking, forcing the three boys to follow along if they wanted to talk. Yue grabbed Stiles’ arm once Danny and Lydia were asked of them. “What of SILENT?” he asked.

“Later.” Stiles amused. “Its not causing any trouble for now. I’ll come back for it after school.” Yue eyed him unsurely but let him go.

Later, during Bio, Stiles had to slide down in his seat and bite his tongue to hide his laughter when Scott when Scott walked in, the back of his shirt still stained red. Once Stiles had his laughing somewhat under control, he leaned around Yue and called out. “Hey, Scott!”

Scott turned to face him reflexively, expression questioning. Stiles grinned wickedly. “You’ve still got some tomato in your hair.” He informed brightly, taking great pleasure in watching Scott’s expression fall.

Next to him, Yue sighed. “Must you antagonize them?”

“Yes!” Stiles replied, waving cheerfully when Erica turned to glare at him. Yue shook his head in annoyance and pressed one hand against his chest, pushing him back in the chair until Stiles was blocked from sight by Yue’s body.

“I’m not going to protect you if you drive them to murdering you.” Yue warned.

Stiles just grinned. “Yeah, you will.” He replied.

\--------

Stiles waited until after dark to return to the school, despite Yue’s protests. ( _”Come on, Yue, don’t you know anything?” Stiles had asked, starting the XBOX. “If you’re going to break into a school, you wait until night time. That way, you can make sure no one’s there but you. Unless, of course, there’s a crazy English teacher there but, we don’t have one of those anymore so…”_ ) He had dinner with his dad, actually tried to do his homework before he left. By the time he managed to slip away to the school, it was past 8 o’clock.

“One of these days,” Stiles informed as he dug a pair of bolt cutters out of his Jeep. “I’m going to break into this school for normal teenager reasons, whatever weird reasons those may be.”

“You’ve done this before?” Kero asked as Stiles forced open the library door.

“Yep.” Stiles agreed, tossing the bolt cutters and now useless chains aside. “Nearly got myself killed every time.” He smiled brightly when both Guardians gave that pained grimace like it hurt them to wonder how Stiles had survived without them. He entered the library quickly and looked around. “Well, lets start looking.” He said.

Kero and Stiles began long sweeps of the library, moving up and down the aisles slowly. Yue, of course, stayed out of it, watching them from near the circulation desk. Stiles eyed the Moon Guardian in annoyance and the next time Kero passed him, he grabbed Kero by the tail and ducked down behind the bookshelf. “Is there a reason you help and Yue doesn’t?” he asked irritably.

Kero glared at him and rubbed his tail. “Clow charged Yue as being The Judge.” Kero informed him and rolled his eyes, like he thought the title was a bit pompous. “Yue’s supposed to make sure that our prospective masters aren’t going to abuse us. Its not really necessary, both Sakura and Watanuki promised us to you, but he takes it seriously. He at least tries to maintain an image of impartiality towards the prospectives.”

“Wait, can he…?” Stiles trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say. _Find me unworthy? Take you away? Realize that I’m not good enough?_

Kero blinked at him, then his expression softened. “Don’t worry, if Sakura thought you’d give him a reason to fail you, she wouldn’t have asked Watanuki to hold us for you. Besides, me and the Cards like you, and Sakura said that together we can overrule him.” Kero flew forward and patted one hand against his cheek. “And, he does like you, even though you drive him crazy.”

Stiles smiled. “Thanks.” He stood straight. Yue met his eyes, eyebrows raised and expression bordering on amused. Stiles nodded and walked off.

He found SILENT in the non-fiction section, haunting the cover of an art history book. SILENT looked like a teenage girl, colored in shades of blue gray. Stiles wouldn’t have looked twice at the book, except he knew the cover was supposed to be of an abstract painting with a giant eye. He straight and turned to face the Guardians, “Hey, I think I-”

The Card’s magic spiked. Stiles had a brief moment of dizziness then suddenly he and the Guardians were outside the library. Stiles looked around himself in confusion; Yue sighed long-suffering. “Did the Card just teleport us outside?” he asked.

The Guardians nodded.

“Guess yelling in front of a Card called SILENT was a little dumb.” Stiles mussed out loud. He sighed and quickly yanked his key off. _“Release!”_ he called and grabbed his staff. “Right. Lets try this again.”

He entered the library as quietly as he could and walked over the the book. He raised the staff, “Return to the form-” he said it as quietly as he could, barely a whisper under his breath, but the Card still activated and he found himself back outside.

He clucked his tongue and side-eyed Yue. “Just how am I supposed to catch this thing if I can’t say anything in front of it?”

“Creatively.” Yue answered.

“I hate you so much.” He muttered.

“No you don’t.” Yue replied. Stiles glared at him and reentered the library, resisting the urge to slam the door in his aggravation.

So began the most infuriating capture he’d done yet. He had to be within arms reach to seal the Card, but SILENT activated any time he spoke while near it. In addition, the more times SILENT activated, the more sensitive to sound it became. While before SILENT hadn’t responded to him and Kero talking softly on the other end of the library, now they got sent away for it. He placed a foot down wrong and his shoe squeaked, outside he went. He bumped into anything, outside. Kero flapped his wings too loud, outside.

Stiles sighed and sat down on a bench outside the library. “This is stupid.” He hissed. Kero grumbled agreement and fluttered to sit next to him.

“I’d forgotten how testy she could be.” Kero said.

Stiles looked over at Yue, who looked as irritated and done as he felt. At least the Moon Guardian wasn’t pulling the stoic shit. “You got any ideas?” he asked. Yue shook his head.

Stiles groaned and pulled the Cards he had out of his pocket. It took a thought; they slipped out of his pocket to hover in front of him, glowing faintly. He considered them tiredly. WOOD, WINDY, ERASE, SLEEP, MOVE, JUMP, SAND… Stiles paused, thinking, then quickly shifted the Cards back into his pocket. He stood, ignoring Kero’s noise of confusion. _“MOVE!”_ He shouted, activating the Card. Once MOVE disappeared, Stiles shifted his stance and raised the staff. _“Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!”_

He brought the staff down just as MOVE finished and the book SILENT was in appeared under the staff. SILENT got caught up in the spell and was sealed, much to Stiles’ relief. Stiles slumped, barely remembering to catch the Cards when they floated down to him.

“That was smart.” Kero said, flying over to him. “I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

Yue approached and pulled out a pen for him. “Just how sure of that were you?” Yue asked, handing it to him.

“Pretty sure.” Stiles replied. “About 35, maybe 40%.”

Kero laughed brightly. “Come on, kid. Lets go home.” 

Stiles straightened and put the Cards and staff away. “There’s school tomorrow, isn’t there?” He asked. Yue nodded. “Fuck everything.” Stiles muttered.

Yue glanced at him and sighed. “I’ll drive.” 

\------

Stiles slept poorly that night, caught in a nightmare.

He was back in the school, the campus pitch black. Peter chased him down the halls, mouth full of teeth. Stiles couldn’t pause to breathe, had to keep running. Anytime he slowed, Peter caught him. Peter’s voice was a sweet croon in his ear when he was caught, “Should have taken the bite, _pet._ ” Then Peter would bite him, teeth tearing through his neck. Stiles wouldn’t wake up when it happened, would just end up back at the start of the dream and start running again.

Scott and Derek were there. Scott was around every corner, just off to the side, laughing. Derek watched but didn’t say anything. When Stiles begged for help, Derek turned away, wholly unconcerned.

Stiles woke up finally, still begging, eyes wet and one hand pressed to his scars. He curled into a ball and shook through the last lingering images of the nightmare. When he stopped shaking and came back to himself, he found Kero had wormed his way under Stiles’ arms and was pressed against his chest.

Stiles breathed deeply as he stared down at Kero. “You had another nightmare.” Stiles looked up, found Yue standing in the doorway, holding a cup of what smelled like hot chocolate.

“Is that for me?” he croaked, because Yue never drank anything.

Yue nodded and entered the room to give it to him. “Your father left for work fifteen minutes ago. You have half an hour until you have to leave for school.” Yue told him quietly. 

Stiles sighed and wrapped his hands around the mug gratefully, shifting carefully do he didn’t wake Kero. “Did I scream?” he asked.

“No, not tonight.” Yue replied. Yue hesitated, then asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Stiles merely shook his head.

He sat there for as long as he could, drinking the coffee slower than usual. Then he forced himself to go to school. He couldn’t help but act out of sorts, his mind buzzing with a weird white noise. It felt like he hadn’t slept at all because of the dreams, and it was making it hard to focus. “Whats wrong?” Danny asked during English, watching him worriedly.

“Bad dreams.” He replied, and pretended not to see how Boyd watched him worriedly during class.

At lunch, Lydia watched him with careful eyes and Yue brought him chocolate. “I thought this melancholy of yours was going away.” She said quietly. “You’ve been so cheerful lately.”

“Its nothing. I didn’t sleep well; I’m mostly just tired, not depressed.” He assured. After that, Lydia didn’t ask him again, though her plans to screw with the Pack were extra mean. Stiles smiled at some of them, his lethargy starting to disappear.

During Bio, his mood nosedived. “Starting today, and lasting for the next week or so, you’ll be doing pair work.” Harris informed them. “And no, you can’t choose your partner.”

Stiles closed his eyes, already knowing this wasn’t going to end well for him. Next to him, Yue was practically vibrating out of his seat with tension. Stiles reached out without looking and laid a hand over one of Yue’s. “Relax. No one’s going to attack me in the middle of class. You can watch me just as well from the other side of the classroom.” Stiles said calmly.

Yue nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. After a minute, Yue was called away to work with some kid Stiles hadn’t even been aware was in the class; Isaac’s expression was a long line of disappointment that Stiles had to laugh at, if only briefly.

“Stilinski.” Harris called. Stiles froze. “Work with Reyes.”

Stiles blanched; Erica stood up, expression tense. “Does it have to be him?” she demanded. Knowing Harris would insist, Stiles quickly pushed his stuff to the other side of the table and slid into Yue’s seat, so he could escape quickly if need be.

“Well, now that I know how vehemently you’re against it, yes.”

Erica’s expression soured and she grumbled something he couldn’t head under her breath as she walked towards him. She slumped down in his seat, arms crossed, looked near mutinous. Stiles ignored her and began to pull out his notes.

They ignored each other as much as they could, speaking only to check each other’s work and pass equipment as needed. Stiles dealt with it with fraying patience, gritting his teeth and sharing pissy looks with Yue.

He dealt with it for half the class. “Once, you’d said I’d make a good Batman.” He said quietly. Erica stilled. “When did that change?”

“Stiles…” Erica said softly, not looking at him.

“I just don’t get it.” Stiles continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Just a while ago you were climbing through my window because you were having nightmares about Gerard, about the Alpha Pack. You came to me when you were scared. You came to me for advice when Boyd asked you out. You came to me. I trusted I’d keep you safe. And the first full moon after the Alpha Pack left, you came to my house half-wolfed out and tried to make me run with you, even though Derek was yelling at you, because I was Pack and I should run with you.”

He looked up, not at Erica, but at Scott, who was looking back already with wide-eyed. Stiles held his gaze. “I don’t understand when you started to think less of me.” He said softly, watching Scott flinch away like he’d been smacked. “Nothing changed. And if it did, its because I was getting better. My nightmares were going away, the panic attacks were stopping, for the first time in months it felt like I could breathe. I was getting better. And you left me.”

Stiles tore his gaze from Scott and grabbed his bag. He couldn’t be in this room anymore; he couldn’t stand the feeling of the Pack watching him, sure they were judging him. He stood up.

“Mr Stilinski, sit back down.” Harris called. Stiles ignored him and continued to the door.

Yue started to rise when he passed him, calling his name in confusion. Stiles pressed a hand to his should and forced him back down. “Stay.” He ordered shortly. Yue obediently fell back down.

“Mr Stilinski, if you leave this room, I will write you up.”

Stiles turned to face the man and gave a tight-lipped smile. “Guess you’ll just have to write me up then.” He said blithely and finished his escape into the hall. He quickly sped up into a light jog in case anyone followed him.

He didn’t slow down until he’d moved into another building and up a flight of stairs. Then he stopped and slid down the wall, letting his bag drop and burying his hands in his hair. He focused on his breathing, steady in and out.

There was a sudden burst of sweet magic.

Stiles let out a choked whimper and banged his head against the wall. “You have to got to be kidding me.” He breathed.

After a minute of breathing, Stiles forced himself to his feet and focused on tracking the aura. But it wasn’t any good; the Card felt like it was everywhere. Stiles frowned and hurried towards the big window at the end of the hall that overlooked the main part of the campus. It took him a minute to see anything; than he noticed the shadows were acting… weird.

They were moving.

Stiles watched as the shadows detached from their objects and skittered out of view. Stiles groaned and, after a quick look around, yanked the key off. “I’ve fallen into fucking Peter Pan, I swear to god. _Release! SLEEP!”_

He watched as the little fairy took off, quickly covering the school. Stiles grabbed his bag and quickly left the building, following the shadows across campus. He frowned when they led him to the auditorium. “Okay…” he said to himself and gripped the staff tighter.

The auditorium was darker than he remembered, though admittedly it had been awhile since he’d been in here. He approached the stage slowly, peering around anxiously. The closer he got to the stage, the darker it got, until he was feeling around carefully, unable to see anything. 

He got to the steps up the stage, breath coming out choppy as fear set in. He turned in the direction of the door but couldn’t see anything even though he knew he’d left the door open. He heard something move up on the stage.

He squinted that way uselessly, trying to make out what was happening. The sound came again, giving him enough warning to duck as something flew over his head. He turned towards the crash it made. It sounded wooden, and quite large. He thought it might have been the bench the drama club was using.

He could hear other things moving up on the stage. He yanked a Card out hurriedly, fear rising. _“JUMP!”_

He dove out of the way, felt a rush of air as something else landed where he’d stood, and landed in an aisle near the door. The darkness lessened drastically and he let out a sharp breath of relief, eying the stage. He could make out what was happening now, enough to realize it was actual shadows that were throwing things at him. He gapped, watching as more shadows rushed towards the stage. “Did you collect all those from around the school?” he asked.

He didn’t get an answer. He did get one of the fake street lamps thrown at him. He jumped, landed an aisle over. “The main body has to be in the middle of all that. Maybe if I get rid of the excess, I’ll be able to seal the Card.” He thought out loud.

He ducked quickly between rows, letting the tightly packed seat protect him from any more flying objects. He quickly pulled out his Cards; he couldn’t quite make out the names printed along the bottom, even even the Cards glowed, but he didn’t need to. He knew what Card he was holding the minute he touched it. He flipped quickly through them, then cursed when he realized he didn’t have any Cards that created light. He put them away then dragged a hand through his hair as he forced himself to think.

He realized it had gotten darker when he looked around. It was nearly as dark here in the back as it had been near the stage. He gulped thickly and fought against the fissure of fear that ran through him. If he couldn’t make light, he’d have o use whatever was around. He thought about it for a minute then looked blindly upwards in realization. The stage lights!

He pushed himself to his feet and jumped towards the door. However, in the dark, he hadn’t realized the Card-controlled shadows were approaching. When he jumped, the shadows lunged forward and wrapped around his ankle. He yelped as he was pulled down. His shoulder slammed down on an armrest. He cried out sharply, instinctively curling up to protect himself.

The shadows pulled at him, yanking him closer to the stage. Stiles gritted his teeth and stretched to reach the staff he’d dropped. He managed to grasp it just as the shadows yanked again. He swung out wildly, gasping when the staff slammed into something actually solid. The grip on his leg disappeared. He scrambled to his feet, running for the door and slamming it closer behind him. He didn’t even pause to catch his breath, just raced for the control room. Inside, he quickly found the controls marked _‘lights’_ and threw all the switches up.

The theater below immediately lit up. Stiles watched as the many shadows melted away, leaving just the main body upon the stage. It looked like a very tall person decked in a long black cape, face hidden by the cowl. Stiles eyed it for a minute then ran back into the theater. He briefly reached for WOOD then realized the vines would create shadows and yanked out WINDY. _“WINDY! Bind it!”_

Once the figure had been bound up, he ran closer until he was right in front of the stage. _“Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!”_

Once the Card was sealed, he let the staff fall from his hands and tried to calm his racing heart. “Today sucks.” He bit out.

Eventually he pulled himself together, found his bag , signed the new Card, SHADOW, and recalled SLEEP and JUMP. He walked out, rolling his shoulder to check the damage. It was sore and it kind of hurt to lift his arm above shoulder level; by tomorrow it would probably be swollen and impossible to move at all. Grimacing, he pulled out his phone and sent a text off to Yue. _‘Where were u did u miss I was doing a capture’_

 _‘I thought you managed just fine.’_ Yue replied after a minute.

Stiles stared at the message blankly and tried to figure out how to reply. ‘How could you see me; Did you miss the part where I was a rag doll; I was scared out of my mind; I couldn’t see!’ all came to mind.

Before he could pick one, someone called out to him. He looked up, found Danny approaching him. He was pushing a cart full of books. “Hey, Danny!” he greeted, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. He motioned to the cart. “Visiting the library?”

“Yeah, my teacher asked me to pick them up.” Danny replied, smiling. “You’re looking better.” He observed cheerfully. 

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, feeling a lot more awake.” He replied. Adrenaline, a wonderful thing.

“That’s good.” Danny looked like he was about to leave then paused and motioned around, looking perplexed. “Listen, did you… notice anything weird a few minutes ago?”

Stiles smiled, hoped it looked innocent and not suspicious. “No.”

Danny watched him for a minute and shit, Danny definitely looked suspicious. Then Danny shrugged, expression easing. “Huh, guess it was just me.”

“Guess so. Listen, I have Harris, so I need to get back.” He said quickly, though he actually planned on hiding out in the library until next period.

“Yeah, of course, go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Danny replied. Stiles smiled and rushed off.

Danny watched him go, then sighed heavily. “I knew it.” He said to himself. “First werewolves, now magic. You can’t keep yourself out of trouble, can you, Stilinski?”


	8. A Flower for Your Lonely Soul

When he woke up, the day after capturing SHADOW, the bruising on his shoulder had gotten ugly. The joint was a mess of black and blue and obviously swollen. He couldn’t lift his arm more than a few inches from his side without severe pain. Thankfully, it was the weekend and he didn’t have to worry about school or lacrosse where someone would wonder why he was hurt.

He shuffled downstairs, groaning as he slowly stretched his injured shoulder as much as he could. There was a note from his dad telling him to be good and that he’d be back at a normal time tonight. Yawning, he started heating up some frozen pancakes, knowing the buzzer would wake Kero. He leaned back against the counter and closed his eyes. When he heard the front door open, he called out, without opening his eyes. “Morning.”

He heard the front door close again as Yue returned the greeting. The Guardian sounded distracted. Stiles slid his eyes open when he heard Yue enter the kitchen. Yue was looking around, heavy frown on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“The wolves were here.” Yue said, starting to walk towards the back door. 

“What?”

“There’s moon magic all over the backyard and the roof.” Yue explained, peering through the window. “Werewolves leek it everywhere when they’re shifted.”

Stiles frowned. “I don’t sense anything.”

“Moon magic, it’s… quieter than the magic you’re used to tracking. Your ability to sense magic isn’t good enough to notice it yet.” Yue told him.

Stiles fought down his flinch at the words, bit down harshly on the thought that echoed ‘ _Of course you’re not good enough._ ’ He took a deep breath before he asked. “They were here last night?”

Yue nodded. “Whatever you said yesterday must have riled them.” Yue gave him an annoyed look that spoke volumes. ‘ _I told you not to antagonize them._ ’

Stiles grinned tightly, turned away when the timer on the pancakes ended. He could hear Kero jerk awake upstairs and accidentally run into the bedside table. A few minutes later Kero flew down the stairs, rubbing his head and half-asleep. “Did you notice any of the Pack here last night?” he asked.

Kero paused, looked at him blearily, then shrugged and shook his head. “Nah, don’t think so.” Kero looked over at his brother. “That moon magic isn’t from you?”

Yue rolled his eyes. “As if I’d be that sloppy.” Yue moved back into kitchen. “We should keep our heads down for a while. There’s no telling if they’ll come back and we don’t want them noticing any magic.”

Stiles sighed and made a mental note to talk to them on Monday and tell them to leave him alone. “Well, that’s really going to depend on the Cards.” Stiles replied and finally started on his pancakes.

\-----

There weren’t any Cards over the weekend, which Stiles was thankful for even if it left him sitting around with nothing to do. The swelling in his shoulder went down, leaving it sore but he at least got back his full range of motion. The last of the abrasions finished healing, leaving him with only very faint scars on his stomach, easy to miss if you didn’t know they were there.

The wolves dropped by on Saturday night, according to the Guardians. They didn’t really do anything, just watched him sleep. Stiles was just grateful his sleep hadn’t been that disturbed over the weekend, allowing him to sleep soundly. The last thing he really wanted was to show the Pack another weakness, another way in which he wasn’t managing to handle what he’d gone through.

On Monday, he tried to approach the wolves about watching him, but they all seemed distracted and merely brushed him off. During Bio, he tried to ambush Erica, since they still had to work together; however, she was paying more attention to her phone and didn’t seem to hear anything he said. He caught the number she was texting and sighed when he saw it was Derek’s. He stopped trying to bring it up and decided to deal with it when they were getting ready for the lacrosse game that night.

He’d moved his locker in the locker room away from Scott’s. However, he was still close enough to overhear Scott and Isaac talking, stopping him just before he approached. 

“Any more news about that howl from last night?” Scott was asking. His voice wasn’t lowered, it never was, and it made it easy to eavesdrop.

“Hasn’t Derek been texting you with updates?” Isaac asked.

“Ms. Hanson took my phone away. I can’t get it back until tomorrow.” Stiles sighed, heard Isaac echo it, could see in his head Scott’s sheepish grin, though he didn’t turn around to look at it.

“Derek thinks its an Omega passing through the territory. Its near the southern part of the preserve; we’re supposed to go check it out tonight.”

“It hasn’t hurt anyone has it?” 

“Not as far as we can tell. Derek says the plan’s just to escort the Omega to the edge of the territory, not attack it.”

Stiles heard Scott make an acknowledging sound. Stiles finished getting changed, tried to shake off the feeling of unease at not having his key on him. He couldn’t have it now, it was too much of a choking hazard. He’d left it, and the Cards, with Yue, who would be at the game tonight in case anything happened. He closed his locker and walked over to the two werewolves, leaned against the lockers, and gave them a sharp edged smile. They both froze. “So, this Omega, is that why you’ve been watching me sleep?” he asked casually. 

“No, the Omega just came in last night.” Scott said, looking bewildered. “How did you know we were checking up on you?” 

“Because I’m brilliant. Stop doing that. It’s really creepy and rude and if you don’t, I’m going to have my dad shoot you.”

“We were just worried about you.” Isaac said quietly, looking sad and upset. “We wanted to check up on you.”

“You don’t have that right anymore.” He told them firmly. “I am Pack or I’m not. You don’t get to pick and choose depending on your mood.” He turned away, headed to sit with Danny. Behind him, he heard Isaac give the soft whine that meant he was hurt, but Stiles ignored him.

When he sat down, Danny smiled at him. “Trouble?” he asked and nodded his head towards the two werewolves.

“When isn’t there?” he replied. Danny shrugged, then knocked his shoulder against Stiles’, forcing a smile out of him.

The game itself was rather slow when it started. Stiles sat on the bench, cheering whenever Danny stopped a shot, couldn’t stop the excited shout the few times someone on their team managed to score, even if it was one of the wolves. Other then that, not much happened at first, neither team managing to score that often.

After about fifteen minutes, however, Stiles sensed a Card activate. He sat bolt upright, looking around in surprise. Out on the field, Danny fumbled and the ball went sailing over his shoulder. The crowd booed and cheered in equal measure.

Rose petals began to fall from the sky.

Everyone stopped, staring. There were thousands of them, bright red against the green grass of the field. They kept falling, beginning to cover the field in a thin layer. “What the hell?” Coach Finstock muttered next to him.

Stiles stared along with everyone else. After a minute of staring, everyone seemed to shrug and accept it; the game began again. Stiles just watched the petals fall, distantly aware the flow of magic causing them wasn’t stopping; was, in fact, getting stronger. As the petals started to fall faster, Stiles turned in his seat and looked up at Yue with a raised eyebrow. Yue wasn’t watching him, instead he was shaking his head, looked all at once exasperated and fond.

He turned back to the game in disbelief and just decided to watch the petals fall. He wouldn’t be able to sneak off and catch it with the Coach standing nearby. He’d wait until the game ended to slip away when everyone was busy and do so.

However, as time went on, that was increasingly becoming an obvious impossibly. The petals didn’t let up, kept falling faster and faster. The field was quickly covered in them, and they started piling up. Soon the players were wading knee deep through the stuff. A time out was called.

Stiles watched Finstock walk out to the field to discuss with the referee and other coach. Then he looked around to make sure no one was watching him before standing and walking quickly over to where Yue was sitting on the bleachers. Yue was a few stands up from the ground but had stood when Stiles approached. Yue leaned over the railing when Stiles got to him. “Tell me that wasn’t you trying to be sneaky.” Yue demanded.

“I- yes.”

Yue’s expression was pained. “No.” He said shortly. “That was not sneaky. That was ‘ _everyone look at me, I’m doing something I shouldn’t be_ ’. How are you still alive?”

Stiles huffed. “Do you have my things or not?” he demanded.

Yue pulled out his key and Cards and dropped them down to him. “This is FLOWER.” Yue told him quietly, glancing around at the people more focused on the field. “She’s harmless, just gets excited at gathering like this.” Yue’s lips flickered up in a fond half-smile. “She’s probably just trying to brighten up the field.”

Stiles stared. “You’re joking.” He said flatly. Yue shook his head. “My life.” He muttered to himself and followed the flow of magic to behind the stands. 

He was relieved to be able to actually see FLOWER right off the bat. It almost seemed to be glowing the dark. It’s hair was done up in blonde corkscrews and it was wearing a bright pink dress. It was dancing to a beat Stiles couldn’t hear. Stiles watched the Card for a moment, before calling out his staff. “ _Release!_ ”

He approached slowly, gripping his staff tightly. The Card stopping dancing suddenly when it saw him and grinned brightly as it ran towards him. Stiles tensed in surprise but didn’t have time to act as FLOWER swept him up in a hold and started spinning him around. He lost his hold on the Cards but not the staff, caught between them.

Stiles couldn’t help it, started to smile brightly as he was swept around, caught up in the sheer glee the Card was putting out. He shifted, caught one of the Card’s hands in his free one, and tried to participate more in the weird dance he was caught in.

It wasn’t until he heard voices rising from the field that he snapped out of it and redirected his focus towards the Card. “Sorry about this.” He said brightly, shifted his grip on the staff until he could press the top gently against FLOWER’s forehead. “ _Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!_ ”

FLOWER quickly returned to Card form. Stiles sighed, shrunk his staff, gathered the Cards he’d dropped, and moved quickly back to Yue. Out on the field, all the rose petals had disappeared and everyone was just staring around in confusion. Stiles handed off his things to Yue again after quickly signing his name with the pen Yue gave him. “See you later.” He whispered before trying to sneak back to the bench.

The coach didn’t seem to have noticed his disappearance, making Stiles breathe a sigh of relief. He slumped down and glanced briefly around the field again. Everything seemed normal.

Danny was staring at him. 

Stiles froze, smiling unsurely, and waved. Danny hadn’t noticed him missing had he? No way. And even if he had, Danny at least couldn’t have seen the capture. Stiles hadn’t been able to see the field from where he was, so Danny definitely hadn’t been able to see him. After a minute, the game restarted, even though everyone still seemed a little confused, and Danny had to turn away from him. Stiles released a sigh of relief.

They won the game, unsurprisingly, because their team had werewolves who knew how to deal with and brush off things no one could explain.

\-----

At home, Stiles made a bag of popcorn in celebration, collapsing onto his bed. He and Kero fought over the popcorn cheerfully, which only ended up spilling it all over his bed. Over by the desk, Yue was reading a book and pretending he didn’t know them. Stiles broke off the battle when his cell phone rang. He bounced off his bed and glanced at the caller ID, answering quickly when he noticed it was his dad. “Hey!” he greeted brightly.

“ _Hey Stiles. I heard you guys won the game._ ” 

“Yeah, it was great! Kind of slow at first, but things picked up eventually.”

“ _I heard something weird went down. Some sort of prank with flowers._ ”

Stiles had to pull the phone away from his face as he struggled to hold back his laughter. Seriously, a prank? That was what people were saying had happened? Sometimes Stiles thought the Cards mind-whammied people too hard. Eventually, Stiles pulled the phone back. “Yeah, really weird.” He agreed. “Practically swimming in them at one point.”

“ _You’ll have to tell me later._ ” The Sheriff said, voice light and easy. Stiles agreed. They kept talking for another few minutes, his dad saying he was going to be late that night since they were trying to track the prankster from the game. 

Stiles grinned brightly. ‘ _Good luck._ ’ he thought.

Eventually, the call ended. Stiles placed his phone back on the desk and was about to resume his battle for food with Kero when there was a flash of light. He looked out his window in surprise. Far away, over the preserve, there was what looked like a thunderstorm building. He stared in surprise, because the weather was supposed to be clear all week. “That looks pretty bad.” He said out loud. He hesitated, barely hearing Kero agree with him, remembering the Pack was going to be out there looking for some sort of stray Omega. 

His phone beeped, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked down at it, surprised to see the low battery image flashing. He glanced briefly back out the window before he shook off thoughts of the Pack; it wasn’t his problem anymore. “I’ll be right back.” He told the two Guardians. “I need to grab my phone charger.” He moved quickly down the stairs.

Kero stopped throwing food into his mouth and looked over at Yue. “You’re not going to tell him that’s,” Kero nodded his head towards the building thunderstorm, “a Card?”

Yue shook his head, “It’s his job to find the Cards. THUNDER is to far away to hurt anyone at the moment. If it becomes a problem, we’ll tell him. Until then, he must find it on his own.” 

Kero sighed. “Shame its so far away. A little closer and he would have been able to sense it.” 

Yue didn’t say anything as Stiles jogged back into the room. Kero returned to snacking as Stiles plugged in his phone then took a flying leap onto the bed, somehow managing not to crush any stray popcorn under him. Stiles laughed when Kero bounced in surprise, managing to catch himself in the air and glaring at Stiles. “That’s it!” Kero snarled and charged at Stiles, actually managing to wrestle him onto his bed. Yue sighed and returned to his book.

\-----

School was alright. Stiles cruised through it easily; spent most of English congratulating Danny on a game very well played. Danny took the praise; his expression was probably aiming for bashful, but he was just a bit too pleased with himself to pull it off. 

At the front of the class, Erica was practically sitting in Boyd’s lap. He didn’t think much of it; however, when he passed them on his way out to lunch, he heard Erica let out a small sound of pain as she stood. Stiles stopped in the doorway to watch them with concern. Both Erica and Boyd were moving stiltedly, keeping each other standing.

Stiles almost went to give them a hand, but before he could, Danny called out to him. He turned, found Danny watching him in confusion. “What’s wrong?” Danny asked.

Stiles shook his head and approached. “It’s nothing. Lets just go to lunch.” He said, though he was still focused on the two slowly walking out of the classroom and heading to the cafeteria, several steps behind him and Danny.

The rest of the Pack wasn’t looking much better, slowly sliding into their seats with pained winces. Stiles frowned at them, worried, wondered if the Omega had been stronger than they’d thought. They looked miserable, to the point where, after lunch ended, Stiles drew Lydia aside before they separated. “Hey, leave the Pack alone for a while, yeah? They’re not looking so good.”

Lydia stared back, eyebrow raised. “You know, you don’t have to look after them anymore. They left you.” She replied quietly, aiming for gentle.

Stiles shrugged. “I know. But we both know the kind of hell they go through. Just because we’re no longer involved doesn’t mean we have to make their lives worse though.”

Lydia stared for another minute, then sighed. "If that's the reasoning you want to go with, fine." she agreed. "I'll call truce."

During Bio, Erica mostly kept her hands in her lap and tried not to move. To balance things out, she talked more, mostly ordered him around and gave him reproachful looks every time he didn’t do some thing to her specifications. Stiles put up with it with shrinking patience, finally snapping back at her half-way through the class.

Oddly enough, it seemed to settle her, some of the tension draining from her shoulders. They continued as such the rest of the class, snarking back and forth easily. 

At the end of class, as they were packing up, Stiles caught a look at her arms when the sleeves of her leather jacket slid up. There was an odd pattern burned up her arms, like a snow flake and a frozen lightning strike, the skin red and irritated. In addition, there were severe burns around her wrists and lower arms, where her bracelets had been yesterday.

“Oh my god, what happened?” He grabbed the arm closet to him and pulled the sleeve back. The weird pattern continued up her arm; he didn’t touch the burns but he could feel the heat they were putting out. 

Erica hissed in pain and snatched her arm back. “Its nothing.” She snapped.

Stiles stared. “You’re not healing.” He said slowly. “Why aren’t you healing?”

“Its none of your business!” she hissed back. “You’re not in the Pack so just stay out of our way. We don’t need you getting hurt.”

“You’re injured!" he protested.

“I don’t want your help!” she snapped back, glaring. After a second , her glare faltered and a pained expression took over. She let out a shaky breath, before storming out. Scott and Isaac were standing in the doorway watching them; Isaac immediately escaped after Erica but Scott watched him for another moment.

“We don’t even know what this thing is, so please, Stiles, just stay out of it.” Scott urged quietly before he followed the Betas.

Stiles watched him leave, let out a sharp breath, then forced his stuff into his bag angrily. While he was trying to shove his textbook back into his bag, Yue slipped next to him. “Are you alright?” Yue asked.

Stiles paused, didn’t look at him when he asked. “You saw that?” 

“I was outside the room to prevent suspicion. But I heard most of it.” Yue agreed.

“Its nothing.” Stiles said, throwing his bag onto his shoulder and walking out. He headed for his locker, intent on ignoring everything. He threw Yue his keys. “Pull the Jeep around, yeah?” he asked. Yue nodded and disappeared outside.

Scott and Isaac were already there, milling about Scott’s locker. Stiles really needed to see about changing his locker; it was a much more complicated process then changing his gym locker. Stiles ignored the werewolves and yanked his locker open.

Tried to ignore them at least, but Scott was doing that thing where he refused to lower his voice when talking about supernatural things. “-Not tonight.” Scott was saying, in response to something Isaac had asked, he supposed. “Even Derek agrees that would be a stupid plan. Everyone’s still too hurt.”

Stiles frowned and peaked around the edge of his locker door. Burned down the back of Scott’s neck was the same snow flake/lightning pattern as Erica had, though his had softened to a pale pink and was already fading; healing faster, no doubt, because Scott was an Alpha. It eased some of the tension in Stiles to realize they actually _were_ healing, though much slower than normal. He looked back at his locker to hide that he was eavesdropping, hoping he was a bit more subtle than Yue implied.

“Any ideas from the Argents on what that thing was?” Isaac asked.

Scott closed his locker. “Same thing Peter suggested. Some sort of lightning spirit, though they don’t know why it looks like a wolf either. And still no word on how to take it down.”

They walked away, leaving Stiles standing there. Stiles closed his locker and walked out to his car in a daze. When Yue tried to slither out of the driver’s seat so he could drive, Stiles shook his head and sat down in the passenger seat.

He took his phone out, did a quite image search for lightning strike burns. Although he got a few images for the nasty burns that had covered Erica’s arm where her bracelets had been, he also got several images of the weird pattern scars. They were Lichtenberg figures, caused by being stroke by lightning, and they usually healed within a few days. He leaned back in the seat and thought.

A lightning spirit. He ran the idea around in his mind a few times. A lightning spirit that looked like a wolf. The Omega they’d hunted down last night, he supposed. It would explain why their wounds were taking so long to heal; werewolves always had trouble with electricity.

But still, a wolf image? Wolves tended to be associated more with the moon and the earth than lightning. Stiles couldn’t think of a lightning spirit taking the form of a wolf.

He paused that thought. He knew that Japanese folklore had some sort of lightning shape-shifter; the Cards were heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese mythology.

He jerked out of his thoughts when the Jeep engine cut off. He looked up, surprised to find he was home. He jumped out of the Jeep and ran for his bedroom, not even waiting for Yue.

“Sakura was Japanese right?” he snapped at Kero as he pulled up Google on his computer, just to make sure.

“Uh- yeah, what’s-?”

“Shut up.” Stiles ordered, a slow, boiling rage filling him. He typed in ‘ _japanese lightning wolf_ ’

_'Raijū. A lightning beast capable of taking on the form of a fox, cat, weasel, wolf, or ball of light. Most commonly seen as a blue and white wolf, or a wolf wrapped in lightning.'_

“It was a Card.” He said lowly, controlled.

Yue, just walking into his room, paused, then nodded.

“It was a Card and you didn’t tell me.” 

“I don’t interfere.” Yue said. “You know that.”

“It was a Card and the Pack went after it and they got hurt. And if I’d known, I could have prevented it.” Stiles continued, trying to keep his voice level, though it rose dangerously at the end.

“I know where every Card in this city is. SAND had been awake for nearly three days before you found it. You didn’t care then that I hadn’t told you.”

“My Pack got hurt!”

“They’re not your Pack!” 

Stiles stopped, throat closing up as he stared at Yue, stunned out of his anger for a short while.

Yue stared back. “They don't treat you like Pack. Whatever your relationship with them was, its over now.” He said calmly. “They’re no longer your concern; you have other things to be worrying about.”

Stiles closed his eyes, couldn’t help the odd twist of his lips into an ugly grin. “And of course, you’d know a werewolf Pack better than most.”

“Yes.” Yue answered simply, but his tone was quieter, almost confused.

Stiles nodded, took a deep breath, then walked out of the room. “Let’s go.” He ordered, voice stilted. “Card to catch.”

He left the house without pausing to see if the Guardians were following him. Outside, he slid into the Jeep and slammed the door shut. Yue entered seconds after him, Kero hanging onto one of Yue’s shoulders. “Stiles?” Kero asked, voice heavy with concern.

Stiles shook his head. “No.” He said. “No talking.” He pulled out and sped towards the preserve, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes.

He’d hoped. Despite what he’d said to Lydia, he’d hoped. For some stupid reason he’d been kicked out, some agenda he wasn’t aware of, anything that wasn’t him not being good enough. Hoped, in a part of him he didn’t want to acknowledge, that there was just something he was missing.

But Yue would know. If Yue thought they weren’t treating him like Pack, then they weren’t. He was out.

The stupid human who couldn’t take care of himself.

\-----

The Card was pretty far into the preserve. Stiles paced himself at a fast walk, kept at it long after his sides had started to hurt. He hoped Scott had been telling the truth; that the Pack was at home licking their wounds and wouldn’t stumble upon him as they all looked for the same target. His Guardians trailed behind him; he could feel them watching him and when he glanced back, they’re expressions were unsure and concerned. He turned away and didn’t look again, not wanting to deal with the questions he knew they were trying to figure out how to ask.

It was getting late by the time he caught the trail of Card’s magic. The sky was getting dark, though the longer he watched, the more he thought that might actually be a storm building. Stiles eyed then lightning flashing between the clouds then pulled out his key. “ _Release!_ ” He grabbed the staff and started running towards the source of the slowly growing magic signature.

By the time he found it, the sky was dark and every so often, there was a lightning strike. Stiles was suddenly very glad he was surrounded by lots of trees much taller than himself. Yue stepped forward and directed his attention to the Card by pointing. “That’s THUNDER.” Yue whispered. The Card itself was shaped like a blue wolf and was only about a head shorter than Stiles himself was. There were sparks shooting out from its body randomly. “It’s only at half power without a master, but-”

Stiles didn’t wait for the but, just wanted to get this over this and go to bed, wanted this day to be over with, wanted to catch this thing that even the Pack hadn’t been able to take down. “ _WINDY!_ ”

“No, wait, don’t!” he heard Yue shout, but it was too late.

WINDY coiled around THUNDER, which roared angrily and thrashed about. WINDY’s bonds pulled tight around the Card, then snapped, and WINDY disappeared back into Card form. Stiles gasped sharply as pain rolled through him, following the path of his magic. He shook it off, looked up when THUNDER roared at him, and managed to dodge out of the way when lightning arched out of the Card’s mouth towards him. The tree the lightning struck exploded. Stiles whipped a hand up to cover his face, wincing as tree bark cut into his arms and across his collarbone. 

“You idiot! THUNDER is an aggressive Card!” Yue shouted at him. “WINDY can’t take him down on her own!”

Stiles grit his teeth and pulled out SAND, the only aggressive Card he had. “ _SAND!_ ”

SAND surged forward. THUNDER, alerted to his presence, charged forward to meet it. There was a sharp flash, then the rippling pain as SAND flew back to him, defeated. He dropped the staff and collapsed to his knees, hissing out through his teeth. “Physics, Stiles, physics.” He muttered to himself, as he tried to push past the pain. “Lightning equals heat. Heat plus sand equals glass. Of course that’s not going to work.”

“Stiles, MOVE!” he heard. He looked up, found THUNDER baring down on him. He didn’t think when he saw the lightning arch towards him, just threw both hands out in front of him for protection.

There was heat, in the brief second before he passed out.

\-----

When Stiles came to, he was lying in his own bed.

He coughed as he slowly rolled his neck and looked around. His mouth felt very dry and his whole body had the feeling of pins and needles. His chest was cool, probably because he was missing his shirt. A hand slid behind his neck, lifting him up. “Here.” Yue’s voice said, and a glass of water was placed against his lips. He made an appreciative sound and sat up more to drink it.

He swallowed the whole thing before Yue managed to tug the glass away from him. “How are you feeling?” Yue asked, voice level and stoic.

Stiles sat up more, frowning at his Moon Guardian. Yue was tense as he moved around the room, cleaning up the first aid kit that was strewn all over the room with more force then necessary. His mouth was a tight line. “Weird. Pins and needles. What happened?”

Kero floated over to him, black eyes wide and worried. “You got zapped by THUNDER. He wasn’t at full power, so it wasn’t like getting hit by lightning really, but it was pretty close.”

“You got lucky.” Yue snapped, closing the first aid kit violently. 

“You were unresponsive for a while.” Kero continued as if Yue hadn’t spoken. “You stopped breathing on the way back here. Yue managed to heal most of the internal damage thankfully.”

“You went into cardiac arrest!” Yue cut in. “If I hadn’t had to learn healing magic just to keep up with Sakura, you’d be dead.” Yue shook his head angrily and turned away.

“He’s just worried.” Kero said quietly.

“No, I’m angry." Yue corrected. "You were reckless and you got hurt.” Yue turned and marched towards him, yanked up his arm despite Stiles’ gasp of pain and Kero’s protest. “You were _struck by lightning_! You were careless and stupid and you rushed in! And you’re going to be stuck with this for the rest of your life!”

Stiles stared. Lichtenberg figures were covering both of his arms. “Feather burns are supposed to heal within a few days.” He said, swallowing drily.

Yue made a sound of disgust and dropped his arm. “Your skull fractured when you were blown back, you were in cardiac arrest, and you weren’t breathing. I had to sacrifice something to save your life. In doing so, I made those permanent. They’ll scar instead of heal.”

Stiles followed the marks up his arms, found they continued over his shoulders, managed to skirt around his collarbone and finally met on his chest, went briefly downward, then faded off.

“You have a lot of power.” Yue told him, shaking his head. “But you’re not trained. Its amazing you haven’t been seriously injured before now. You’re greatest asset is your intelligence, but you’re useless if you don’t think.”

It was that word again. Useless. Combined with Yue’s comments earlier, Erica and Scott brushing off his help, it felt like something in his chest just broke. “Are you done?” he asked quietly.

Yue paused, looking confused. “What?”

“I get it.” Stiles looked at him. “I get it already. I’ve heard it before. Useless, not good enough. Well guess what, I know I’m not good enough, I’m never good enough. I’m not even good enough to be the Pack’s stupid human _pet_.” He took a deep breath, though it shook. “If you’re going to stand there and yell at me then at least pick an insult I don’t already know.”

Yue stared back, eye wide. “Stiles?” he asked, shocked. Next to him, Kero was mute, gaping open-mouthed.

Stiles stared back at Yue, breath starting to come faster and faster. Finally, he stood up, ignoring how his knees shook uncertainly, and ran out of the room. He made it to the bathroom, where he closed the door firmly behind him and slid down it until he was sitting on the ground. He curled up, tucked his head into his arms. “I’m alright. I’m okay.” He said to himself, voice wet.

He could hear the Guardians trying to talk to him through the door but he ignored them; clamped his hands down over his ears. “I’m okay. I don’t need anyone.” He repeated it to himself, again and again, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest. 

He wanted his Pack back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually know shit about what element the wolf is associated with in western cultures. I tried to look it up, but all I got were quizes to find out what element wolf I was. The only thing I really found was wolves' place in Roman culture, and that some Native American tribes view the wolf as a guide. So I went with what seemed like the logical choice. If I'm wrong, kindly tell me with the correct info and I'll change it.
> 
> THUNDER's design is based off the Raiju though. I know that for sure.


	9. ...and Thunder to Fill Your Heart

Stiles stayed in the bathroom all night, ignoring his Guardian’s pleas. He remained pressed against the door, knees curled up to his chest, until he fell asleep. He woke up when the alarm on his phone went off, feeling stiff and cold, his skin too small. 

He pushed himself to his feet, immediately regretting it when various parts of his body offered up protests and reminded him in no uncertain terms that not only had he fallen asleep in the worst place and position possible, but that he had also most definitely been struck by lightning. He let out a breath and held very still as the pain slowly eased away, his muscles unclenching. “Fuck.” He hissed, trying to breathe deeply.

He stared down at his arms, now covered in thin white lines. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He’d screwed up. He stood there for awhile, letting his thoughts trip over themselves. He’d tried so hard not to show how much of a failure he was, to keep it from Yue and Kero for as long as possible. So much for that; they knew it now. He took a deep breath, pushed his shoulders back, and opened the door, prepared to face the music. He peeked out. (Okay, so he wasn't that prepared. He was still definitely hoping he could sneak by.)

Kero was on the ground next to the door, sleeping. Stiles slipped out and crept down the hall to his bedroom. Upon opening the door, he froze when he found Yue waiting for him. Yue was sitting at his desk, watching him with blank eyes. Stiles stared back for a minute, blood roaring in his veins, before gathering what was left of his dignity and walking to his closet. 

“Stiles.”

“No.” Stiles cut in, not looking at Yue. “No talking.” 

Yue obeyed.

Stiles yanked on one of his hoodies, the BHPD one that was too big for him. He was practically swimming in it; the sleeves fell past his fingers, successfully hiding the marks.

He grabbed his bag and headed for his Jeep. Yue followed but he also stayed quiet, so Stiles ignored him. The ride to school was silent and they got there much too early. Stiles didn’t care, merely yanked his hood up, and marched towards class, sending out clear ‘back off’ vibes to anyone who approached him.

He had no homework done for class and mostly huddled in his seat all day. Yue shadowed him, never said anything, just made sure Stiles felt his presence. Whatever Yue thought about his outburst last night, he kept it off his face; Yue stayed blank-faced and almost pensive every time Stiles looked at him.

Danny was obviously worried about him, but the man didn’t say anything about Stiles’ behavior. Danny spent most of English talking about their classwork and lacrosse, interspersed with worried looks; Stiles appreciated it more than he could say. When he looked at Erica and Boyd, they both appeared completely healed already, which was a bitter relief, knowing they were fine but that he’d always carry the proof of his own stupidity. He didn’t go to lunch, so he didn’t hear what Lydia had to say about his behavior. Instead he hid out in the men’s bathroom until it was time to go to class again.

He managed to make it to Biology without saying much of anything to anyone. Unfortunately, he had to sit next to Erica still. She kept giving him weird looks throughout class and was trying to discreetly sniff him. However, since he knew what all the wolves looked like when they tried to be discreet about their powers, he noticed it immediately. “What?” he demanded eventually.

Erica froze. “You smell… singed.” 

Stiles tensed. “Oh.” He should have known they’d be able to smell it on him. If he’d been thinking about it at all, he would have taken a quick shower before he’d left, done something to cover the scent.

_”-but you’re useless if you don’t think.”_

Stiles shoved the thought away. “It’s nothing.” He wrapped his fingers around the edges of his sleeves and pulled them further down. Erica's eyes narrowed in on the action.

Erica’s hand flashed out and grabbed his wrist, making him yelp and flinch back. Erica ignored his reaction and yanked down his sleeve. They both went still. Slowly, Erica looked back up at him. “What did you do?” Her voice was shaky. 

Stiles gulped thickly. “Let me go.” He ordered quietly.

“Did you go after that lightning spirit? What were you thinking? We told you to stay away.”

“I said let go!” Stiles repeated, louder than he’d intended. Across the room, Yue surged to his feet, eyes narrowed on them. The whole class fell silent, glancing uneasily between the three of them. Stiles was peripherally aware of Scott slowly pushing his chair away from the desk, obviously unsure who he was going to have to go after, Erica or Yue. Isaac was watching them all nervously. 

“What is going on here?” Mr Harris demanded, stalking over to them.

Stiles bit his tongue, refused to answer the man in favor of holding Erica’s gaze. At this point, looking away would feel too much like a surrender. He was aware of Scott’s mouth moving, saying something Erica would be able to hear because of her werewolf abilities.

“Well?” Harris asked, glaring.

He could see Scott duck his head, though it didn’t do much to hide the flash of red in his eyes. Erica let him go, eyes briefly shining gold as she obeyed whatever order Scott had just given. “It’s nothing.” She said lowly.

Harris looked like he was going to say more, but then his eyes flickered down to Stiles’ arms. The color left Harris’ face as he obviously recognized what the marks on Stiles’ arms meant. He cleared his throat, nodded, and turned away without a word. 

Stiles met Yue’s eyes and made a sharp motion for him to sit down. Yue did so slowly, not looking exactly happy. Stiles merely held his gaze until Yue nodded reluctantly and returned to his work. Yue’s partner visibly relaxed into her seat, looking pale and uneasy from the tension.

“What did you do?” Erica hissed under her breath. “Tell me.”

“No.” He answered back quietly, and ignored her continued demands throughout class. When the bell finally rang, he surged from his seat, barely pausing to messily collect his stuff and fled the classroom for his locker.

His hands were shaking as he fumbled his locker open, trying to shove his things inside and get away. However, when he slammed his locker shut and turned around, he found the Pack gathered around him, waiting. He jumped back, slamming into the lockers, and bit back a startled scream. He closed his eyes, let out a heavy breath. “Bells.” He hissed at them when he was somewhat calm again.

He thought he saw Isaac smile briefly at the old joke, but Scott remained serious. “Let me see your arms.” Scott ordered, holding out his hand. 

Stiles shrank back against the lockers, pressing his arms to his chest defensively. “No.”

“Stiles. Let me see them.” Scott pressed, taking another step closer.

He tried to glare back. “No.”

Scott pressed his lips together and huffed angrily. Scott reached out quickly, ignoring Stiles and aiming for his hands. Before Scott could grab him, a hand wrapped firm around Scott’s wrist, stopping him. Stiles gaped as Yue easily slip through the barrier the Pack had created and placed himself firmly between them and Stiles. “That’s enough.” Yue said lowly. His voice was disapproving, almost disappointed, and held a weight of magic in it. He saw Isaac shrink back and even Scott blinked rapidly and curled into himself slightly.

Yue released Scott’s wrist, instead reaching back towards Stiles. Yue didn’t grab him, just let his hand hover in the distance between them, let Stiles bridge the gap. Stiles took a deep breath and grasped Yue’s hand. Yue tugged him forward a step, until Stiles was nearly pressed against him, letting Stiles hide behind him. “I maybe new and I may not know your history, but even I can tell none of you have the right to tell him what he can and cannot do.” Yue told the Pack, quiet and stern. “If you even had that right at one point, you have obviously given it up. Leave him alone and get out of our way.”

Scott stared back, jaw clenched, then sighed heavily and stepped back. Yue immediately moved them through the small gap and walked briskly out to the Jeep. “Thank you.” Stiles said quietly. Yue glanced back at him and nodded.

Yue didn’t say anything until they were in the Jeep and driving away. “I would apologize, if you would let me.” 

Stiles glanced over at him, “For what?”

“Last night, I spoke rashly and in anger. What I said, it reopened old wounds for you, and for that I am sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He whispered, turning his attention to the road as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“No, I will worry about it.” Yue pressed. “For you still do.”

Stiles paused and looked over at him. “Then you’re going to be worrying for awhile.” 

“Then I shall.”

Stiles smiled, just slightly and turned away again.

They were halfway home before Yue spoke again. “Before, you spoke as if you were only a passing acquaintance of the Pack. You lied.”

Stiles nodded after a breath, but didn’t say anything.

“I said once that I can’t protect you if you only tell me half of what I need to know. That’s still true, though at the time I hadn’t though I’d have to protect you from myself.” 

Stiles gulped thickly and after a moment of thought, pulled the Jeep over. If they were going to have this conversation, he didn’t want to be driving. He stared out the windshield once the Jeep was shut off, rhythmically clenching his fists around the wheel. “Me and Scott, we’ve been friends since the 6th grade. Its my fault he’s even a werewolf. I was there from practically the beginning. Before Scott or Derek were Alphas, before Isaac, Erica, and Boyd were wolves, before Allison began training as a Hunter. I was there for all of it; I was right in the middle. I did everything I could, whatever they wanted. I /was/ Pack. I went to the meetings, I was there for the full moon, I was… a part of that Pack. I thought I was.

“Then, um, about a month and a half ago, I wasn’t. Derek, he kicked me out. He said that I wasn’t need, that I was, uh, Scott’s little human pet. I haven’t been able to get those words out of my head. No matter what I’m doing, I keep hearing them. They’re this poison and I don’t know how to make them stop.” He looked over at Yue, found the Guardian watching him with wide eyes. “Its the whole reason I’m even doing this. I just, I wanted to prove that I was strong enough to do it. That I could be… better. I’m not though.”

“…You walked out of that bathroom.” Yue said after he finished talking. Stiles looked over at him, squinting through the tears he refused to let fall, confused. “Despite what you thought of your own efforts, despite what we both said, you walked out of that bathroom. You faced me and yourself, when it would have been easier to hide in that room and not come out. That took, I believe, more strength than you give yourself credit for.”

“It wasn’t that big a deal.” Stiles muttered.

“It was just one incidence in a pattern I am finally seeing.” Yue said quietly. “You could have turned down Watanuki’s deal. Instead, you took it, despite that you knew it would cause you pain. You have, time and again, refused to sit down and give up. You have done what is hard, even when you did not have to, simply because you refused to be told you weren’t good enough to do so. Even when you believed yourself a failure, you still tried. You are stronger than you know.”

“So, my best trait is that I’m bull-headed.” Stiles said, couldn’t help that his voice cracked in the middle of it.

“Tenacious.” Yue corrected. “And whatever anyone else has said, you are good enough for this. And even when you are not, you keep fighting until you are.”

He gave a short, choked laugh, couldn't help it. He started the Jeep again. “Right then. Only one thing I can do in response to that.” He pulled back onto the road, heading back the way they’d came.

“Where are we going?”

“The store. If I’m going after THUNDER again, I’m going to need some stuff.”

“After THUNDER? You’re still injured.” Yue protested.

“These days I’m always injured. If I let that stop me, I’ll never get anything done.”

Yue smiled slowly, expression pleased. Some of the weight clamped around Stiles’ shoulders lifted. Derek’s voice in the back of his head got quieter.

\----

He pulled into the store and jumped out, mind racing. Now that he was calmer, it was easier to think about what he’d need. Rain boots, the rubber ones kids always wore. Maybe some matching gloves. As he looked for them, he tapped one finger thoughtfully against the pocket the Cards were in. He already knew WINDY and SAND wouldn’t work. He couldn’t use WOOD; trees exploded when struck by lightning. Maybe a combination? 

He noticed Yue eyeing his fingers as they found the boots and stopped the tapping. “Sorry, nervous habit. I do it when I'm thinking."

Yue waved away the apology. The Guardian was silent as they walked, a struggle clear on hi face. Finally, Yue spoke, “There are…” Yue paused, then sighed heavily. “In order for the deck to be balanced, some Cards have opposites. For example, you have LITTLE, there is also BIG; you have ERASE, there is also CREATE. There are other ways to take the Cards down, but using their opposite is the easiest, if you can figure out what it is.”

Stiles blinked, paused, looked over at the Guardian in amazement. “Are you… helping?” he wondered. Yue never helped with captures.

“I could stop.”

“No, its fine.” Stiles smiled to himself. He quickly checked sizes for the boots he was holding before heading for the register. “So, they cancel each other out?”

“Of a sense, yes. Though perhaps not in the way you’re thinking of.”

“Right. …I have no idea what THUNDER’s opposite could be.” He placed the boots on the counter, giving the checkout lady a manic smile.

Yue sighed, raised his eyes to the ceiling in an expression of annoyance, ignoring his antics as he paid for the stuff. “THUNDER’s opposite is the Card he cannot hurt,and yet, is capable of dispelling.”

“That makes no sense.” Stiles told him, ignoring the weird looks the cashier was giving them.

Yue glared at him. “It would if you thought about it.”

“Yeah, no, I’ve got nothing.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” Stiles grinned, grabbed his bags, and went to his Jeep.

“You’re going to be careful this time, right?” Yue asked, following. “I really don’t feel like fusing your skull back together _again_.”

“Yes! I don’t actually like getting hit by lightning.” 

“Just checking.”

\----

THUNDER was still deep in the woods. Stiles yanked on his new boots and started the long hike into the forest. He was following an old trail of magic, Yue usually staying a few feet behind him. Yue suddenly surged forward and pressed a hand against his mouth. Stiles froze obediently, glancing at Yue out of the corner of his eye. “The wolves are here.” Yue told him. “The whole Pack I’d say, from the amount of moon magic. They’re about fifty feet ahead of us, following a parallel trail.” Yue pointed in the right direction.

Yue released him after Stiles nodded in understanding. Stiles grabbed his key. “ _Release!_ ” He examined the woods in front of him. “Are we down wind?” he asked. Yue nodded. “Right. _SILENT! JUMP!_ ” He looked back at Yue again and raised his eyebrows, silently asking if Yue would be okay if Stiles disappeared for a few minutes. Yue nodded and motioned with his head for Stiles to go.

Stiles jumped up into the trees and took off in the direction of the Pack, SILENT masking the sounds of his passing. Werewolves relied too much on their hearing and sense of smell to tell them when someone was coming; with both hidden he could sneak up on them if he was careful. 

He found the Pack moving slowly through the forest; every so often, Derek or Peter would check something on the ground. A physical trail, he realized, THUNDER’s definitely if they were moving parallel to Stiles and Yue. They were hunting THUNDER again and they had no idea what they were after.

“I’m telling you, its the same ones.” Erica snapped below him. “I know what I saw and he had the same marks we did after we got struck. He ran into that thing, I could smell it on him.”

Stiles groaned in realization. They were talking about him. There was no way this was going to end well for him. He settled more firmly on his perch, making sure he was hidden from sight by the leaves.

“You think he went after the lightning spirit?” Allison asked, watching Derek and Peter. Her bow was slung across one shoulder.

“Yes. He knew we’d been hurt by something and he probably overheard one of us talking about it.”

“What would he gain by going after it though?” Isaac asked.

Peter snorted, moving his attention from the tracks. “Nothing, unless he beat it, which he obviously didn’t. He knew we lost; probably thought if he could take it down, we’d let him back in.” Peter looked over at Derek, smiling sharply. “I told you he wouldn’t just take this sitting down.”

Derek shot Peter a glare and straightened. “Lets finish with this spirit. I’ll talk to Stiles later.”

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. He moved his staff forward and pulled SLEEP from his pocket. The little silver fairy flew over to the wolves quickly. Stiles watched as they all collapsed; he jumped when he noticed Derek’s eyes actually focus on SLEEP just before he went down.

He jumped down from his perch and walked cautiously over to the wolves. Yue appeared from behind a tree, approached him on silent feet, making him jump. “Don’t do that.” He snapped.

Yue cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head with an expression of amusement. It took Stiles a minute, then he sighed and shook his head. “Right.” He called SILENT back, and gave Yue an annoyed look. “Don’t sneak up on me.” He said again. 

Yue snorted and nodded.

Stiles rolled his eyes at his Guardian and held out a hand. SLEEP fell back towards him. Stiles eyed the Card. “I think Derek saw SLEEP.”

“More than likely. Werewolves have enough magic that they should be able to see through some of the illusions protecting the Cards.” Yue informed. “We should move on. THUNDER is headed away from us. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love it when you’re actually helpful?"

“Walk.” Yue ordered. 

Stiles laughed to himself but started walking.

And kept walking, for a long time.

The presence of its magic pressed against his skin as he approached, a steadily building pressure and warmth that actually eased the various constant aches in his body, even as the adrenaline started to kick in, since that feeling always meant battle-time. Above, the weather began to change again, storms building under the urging of THUNDER’s magic. Finally, Stiles realized he could actually hear it, the crackle of lightning against the trees and ground as THUNDER moved. He ducked down so he was better hidden by the underbrush. After a few more feet, he noticed an odd change in the lighting, flashes of blue appearing between the trees. He slowed even more, crept forward until he could see THUNDER. The Card was prowling restlessly around the same ten or so feet of land, snapping at nothing, moving oddly.

Stiles ducked behind a tree out of THUNDER’s area of movement and tried to breathe evenly. Yue was several feet behind him, watching him with wary eyes. The flashes of blue light were casting odd shadows across his face, made his eyes look the shade of silver they were in his true form.

Stiles paused, eyed the shifting lightning in dumb realization. It was not that easy. He yanked out SHADOW and held it out towards Yue. The Guardian nodded. Stiles wanted to slam his head against something, because of course. SHADOW was insubstantial; there was nothing for THUNDER to hit, and was stronger than WINDY, which was his other incorporeal Card. In the reverse, THUNDER would be capable of dispelling SHADOW by creating too much light.

“ _SHADOW!_ ”

SHADOW leapt from around the tree and raced towards THUNDER. Stiles peeked around the trunk, not willing to face THUNDER head on again, and watched as SHADOW easily bound the other Card, which was roaring unhappily even as it was forced to its stomach.

Stiles breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out from the tree. Yue walked up to him to stand by his side. “Really? SHADOW?” Stiles asked.

“You’re just upset it took you so long to figure out.” Yue told him calmly.

Stiles shot him an annoyed look and slowly approached THUNDER, who was still struggling against SHADOW’s hold. It’s growls got even louder when it noticed his approach and the lightning sparking off of it still increased in frequency. Stiles ignored the show of power and kept walking.

THUNDER… whimpered.

Stiles froze, the familiar sound cutting right to his core. That was the sound the wolves made when they were hurt, when they were seeking comfort. THUNDER was still snarling at him, but whenever the Card breathed too deep, it whimpered in pain. Stiles gulped and looked over it carefully. There was a nasty series of gashes along its flank. “It’s been hurt.” He called back to Yue. “I think one of the wolves tagged it during their fight.”

“He will heal when he’s returned to Card form.”

Stiles nodded and started moving forward again. THUNDER’s growling increased again the closer he got. Stiles paused briefly then pointed held the staff away from him, holding out his free hand. “It’s okay.” He said quietly. “You’re going to be okay. It’s not going to hurt anymore.” 

THUNDER slowly quieted, eying the hand held out to him. The sparks calmed. Then THUNDER seemed to… shrink. Within a few seconds, THUNDER was the size of a normal wolf, maybe even a head shorter than average. THUNDER whined, strained against his bonds to lean forward and lick at Stiles’ outstretched hand. Stiles stiffened, expecting to be zapped again. However, nothing happened; the tongue that licked against him was rough and a little too warm, but it didn’t hurt. Stiles relaxed, ran his hand carefully over THUNDER’s head. “It’s okay.” He said again. He swung the staff upwards. “ _Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card._ ”

He called back all his Cards, signed his name without paying much attention. Yue stepped up next to him. “Do you know thats the first time I’ve seen you treat a Card as more than a object?” Stiles frowned and the looked up at the Guardian in confusion. “Its easy to forget, but every Card is just as intelligent as Kero or I, though many are limited in how they may apply that intelligence, and even more in expressing it. This is the first time I’ve seen you acknowledge that.”

“He was hurt.” Stiles said quietly. “He makes the same sound Isaac does when he’s hurt. I just… I couldn’t ignore that.”

Yue held out a hand. “Let’s go home.”

Stiles let Yue pull him to his feet and started back to his Jeep. Something warmed quietly in the back of his mind, a faint echo like a wolf’s content purr. Stiles smiled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So very sorry for the delay! I've been preparing for school, which just started Monday, so I've been busy working out my finances and trying to fix my sleeping schedule, which didn't work out all so I still ended up going to class on Monday with no sleep. But I'm back in school, I have routine again! Updates soon again start happening regularly.
> 
> Updates will change to Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you for your patience.


	10. Flight of Truth

The night after THUNDER, Stiles was at home resting, trying to catch up on some of the homework he’d fallen behind on, when Yue suddenly lifted his head from his book and focused his attention on the window. “One of the Alphas is approaching.”

Stiles shook himself from his math homework to focus on Yue. “What?”

“One of the Alphas, the older one if I had to guess, he’s coming here. He’ll arrive in about five minutes.”

Stiles grimaced as he had a sudden flashback to the forest earlier, to Derek promising he’d have a talk with Stiles about going after THUNDER. “Fuck.”

Yue looked over at him, concerned. “What do you want me to do?” 

Stiles took a deep breath, focused on thinking rationally. “You need to go. They can’t find out about the magic.” Stiles reached over and grabbed Kero, who was sleeping soundly on top of the Sakura Book. “Take him with you.” He ordered and threw Kero at Yue.

The Sun Guardian yelled as he came awake, pinwheeling. Yue snatched Kero out of the air before he could regain his balance. “What the hell, kid?” Kero shouted, struggling against Yue’s grip. Yue ignored his brother’s struggled and instead quickly headed for the door.

Stiles snatched the Book off the top of his desk and hid it within one of the drawers. There was an odd rumble in the back of his head, displeased, and it took him a minute to recognize the sharp crackle as THUNDER or the rustling as WOOD. Stiles stood there, shocked still.

He could hear them.

“Stiles.”

Stiles jerked, slammed the drawer shut. Derek was standing in front of the window, arms crossed. His stomach rolled unpleasantly at the sight of him and Stiles really just wanted to sit down and breath deeply until he could shake off the memories of the last time Derek had spoken to him. But he couldn’t do that, so he squared his shoulders, reminded himself that the Guardians and the Cards thought he was good enough, that Derek didn’t matter anymore. There was a soft clamor of agreement in his head that made him smile to himself. “What do you want?” he demanded, didn’t care that the words came out hostile and bitter.

“You went after the lightning spirit.” Derek said, voice blank.

“Yep. That’s definitely a thing I did.” Stiles agreed, trying to think quickly. He couldn’t outright lie; Derek would know.

Derek sighed heavily, eyes dropping to Stiles’ arms. His eyebrows started doing that thing that Stiles had never figured out besides that it made Derek look constipated.“I thought I made myself clear. You’re done with this.” 

“Okay, wow, no. That’s not your decision.” Stiles protested without thinking. 

Derek scowled harder. “Stiles!” Stiles snapped his mouth shut, wheeled back the words that wanted to escape. “You’re not going after anything again, understand?”

Stiles took a deep breath, looked Derek right in the eye. “Don’t worry; I’ve learned my lesson.” He told Derek. He’d learned not to go blindly rushing in, to think before he tried to act. It wasn’t the lesson Derek would be thinking of, but it wasn’t a lie.

The Alpha watched him carefully for a minute, not looking convinced. Derek’s eyes dropped to the desk drawer; Stiles stiffened, aware his heart skipped a beat then sped up. “Stay out of this, Stiles. Are we clear?” Derek demanded.

“Never been clearer.” Stiles assured, glaring.

Derek nodded. “Don’t push this, Stiles. You won’t like the consequences.”

“What does that mean?” he demanded, but Derek had already disappeared. Stiles was left staring at an empty room, confused and unsettled. He made a disgusted sound and moved to close the window. “Fucking werewolves.”

He went back to his desk and pulled out the Book. The rumbling in his head quieted to a reassuring pur. He was still staring at the Book when his Guardians came back.

“You okay, kid?” Kero asked.

“I can hear them.” He said quietly. The Guardians paused, looked at each other. Stiles couldn’t read their expressions.

“Most of them aren’t capable of actual speech, but they’re rarely quiet.” Yue explained, approaching. “They can be… quite opinionated.”

Stiles smiled weakly. “I don’t think they like Derek very much.” He said. “Well, neither do I. I hate that man.”

Yue hesitated then slipped an arm around his shoulder, tugged him in close. “No, you don’t.” Yue said in a kind tone that made him want to cry. He turned more into the embrace and hid his face against Yue's shoulder.

\-----

Stiles spent most of the next school day enjoying his new awareness of the Cards. THUNDER and WOOD were the loudest, which Yue said were the ones that resonated with him the strongest. The two were of opposing behaviors; WOOD was much gentler then THUNDER, and also more stable in temper. THUNDER got easily rallied, but was also quicker to curl up around him if he thought Stiles needed it. 

They seemed to like Danny and Lydia well enough. All of them were in agreement about the Pact though; they weren’t to even be tolerated. Yue gained a small, secret smile when Stiles mentioned it; the kind of smile that made Stiles narrow his eyes and wonder what mischief Yue had caused.

The most amusing part of it all was definitely when he got ready for lacrosse practice. As one, they all whined when he placed them in his locker as he changed. He leaned his head against the locker and laughed, ignoring the weird looks he got from the others.

Half-way through practice, as Stiles was taking a break for water, Scott stepped up next to him. “Did Derek talk to you?” Scott asked, nonchalantly reaching for his own water bottle.

“Yep.” He said, popping the ‘p’ obnoxiously. “What exactly is _you won’t like the consequences?_ supposed to mean?”

Scott looked over at him, pulling the wide-eyed, confused puppy look Stiles knew too well. “I don’t… know?” Scott hedged, Alpha confidence completely shattered. Familiar fondness washed through Stiles, making him snort. Scott never changed, even when he was an all powerful werewolf. Stiles had found it reassuring once upon a time.

“You should ask.” He advised. “You know Derek, he-” Stiles cut himself off as a wave of magic grabbed his attention. The water bottle he had been holding dropped to the ground as a huge surge of wind suddenly spread across the field, knocking everyone off balance. Stiles was pushed into Scott by the force, though Scott himself was barely holding his balance.

Just as the wind started to settle down, another blast surged up. Stiles groaned, dug his fingers into Scott’s arms and wished for his Cards. An odd, melodic call grabbed his attention. He raised his head, felt his jaw drop. A truly giant white bird was moving across the sky, wings beating strongly and causing the strong winds. Every so often, it would call out, a peaceful, soothing cry.

The wind settled down slowly, each gust getting gentler as the Card moved away. Stiles stared after it in shock, switching rapidly between awe, respect, and a little fear. The bird was so big and was flying so far up. He wasn’t sure JUMP could make it.

“Stiles?” Scott asked gently, still holding onto his arms.

Stiles looked over at him, noticed Isaac approaching, cheeks red from the wind. “Did you see that?” he demanded of the two, wondered how much twisting he was going to have to do to avoid telling a direct lie.

However, both of them gave him blank looks. “Saw what?” Scott asked.

Stiles looked back at them in confusion. They hadn’t seen the Card? But Derek had seen SLEEP without problem. It couldn’t even be an Alpha thing since Scott hadn’t seen the Card either.

The Coach’s shrill whistle cut through his thoughts. Stiles jerked around, found the Coach motioning everyone towards the lockers. “Come on, everyone inside! Before the wind starts up again!”

Stiles moved quickly to the lockers, yanked the Cards out when he got there and clutched them with white-knuckled fingers. While the Coach began yelling into the phone, Stiles started yanking his uniform off, not caring that practice hadn’t actually been dismissed.

He didn’t notice Danny watching him with narrowed eyes.

Stiles was already tying his shoelaces and trying to dial Yue at the same time when Finstock hung up. “Practice is canceled. There isn’t any weather warnings up but I’m not going to risk it. Everyone head home and keep your eyes peeled.”

Stiles ignored him because Yue had picked up. _”Don’t worry, I felt it.”_ Yue said. _”I’m at the library; I’ll meet up with you at the Jeep.”_

“Alright.” Stiles agreed and hung up. He stuffed the Cards in his pocket, slung his bag over his shoulder, and headed out, trying to keep his pace somewhat slow to avoid attention.

He’d made it outside the gym building when he heard Danny call out to him. He paused, turned around in confusion. Danny was moving at a near run towards him, his expression tight and stormy. Stiles had noticed Danny had been acting strangely all day, tense and anxious, looking like he was trying to figure out how to say something. “Danny? What’s wro-!” 

Stiles was cut off, breath escaping him in a rush as Danny grabbed his shirt with both hands, spun them around, and pushed him against the wall. “What the fuck was that?” Danny demanded, voice low and harsh. 

Stiles gasped, hands scrambling at Danny’s wrists, trying to get him to let go. “Danny! What are you doing?”

Danny shook him a little, making his head thunk back against the wall. Stiles hissed out in pain, almost missing Danny’s next words. “The bird that just tore apart the field. What the hell was that?”

Stiles went slack. “You saw it?” he asked, voice weak.

“I’ve always seen them.” Danny snapped. “I’ve just ignored it. I ignored the werewolves; I ignored the sudden magical power rise; I even ignored that spirit playing at human that follows you around. I thought if I waited, the constructs running rampant would stop, but they haven’t. I have to get involved now. You’re at the center of it and you’re going to tell me what’s going on.”

Stiles just stared at Danny, unable to think of a response. What did one say to that? When one’s entire perception of the world was shifting around, how did one even find words? 

As the two stared at each other, Danny’s expression smoothing out to a chilly blankness, an odd, new magic ghosted over Stiles’ mind. The magic was smooth and cool, especially in comparison to Sakura’s, which blazed like a mini sun. “Let him go.” Yue’s voice ordered.

Both Stiles and Danny looked over. Yue was approaching them with measured steps; he was holding a bow, already notched and drawn, and both bow and arrow were made of magic which shimmered silver. Danny met Yue’s gaze, looking shocked. His grip on Stiles went lax, but Stiles didn’t try to escape, stunned to stillness.

“You’re a _guardian spirit_?” Danny asked dazedly.

Yue ignored the question, though he didn’t move his gaze from Danny. “Stiles, we have to go. FLY is moving away from us quickly.”

“Yeah, right.” Stiles said distantly, still looking at Danny. Betrayal was starting to sink in through the numbness of shock; he didn’t know what it did to his expression, but when Danny looked back at him, he winced.

“Stiles?” Yue glanced at him for just a brief second before his eyes returned to Danny, bow still pulled taut. “Are you calm enough to go after it?”

Stiles made himself take a deep breath, shake off the confusion, the shock, the budding anger, until he could focus solely on FLY. “Yes.” He said and stepped towards Yue. Danny didn’t stop him. Once Stiles was next to Yue, Yue slowly eased the bow and unwound the magic, letting it disappear. Yue held Danny’s gaze for another minute, then followed Stiles.

With his head clearing, Stiles was able to pick up on the Cards’ restlessness and vague unease. He was getting the general impression that, though many were upset about Danny’s actions and weren’t sure if they should be responding aggressively, too few were surprised. It made the ball wound up in his stomach pull tighter.

Stiles jumped into his Jeep. “I have so many questions I don’t even know where to begin.” He complained as he started the engine.

“Calm down.” Yue ordered, slumping back into the seat. Stiles frowned at him, concerned.

“Are you alright?” 

“Yes, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.” Yue said.

Stiles eyed him, definitely concerned. Yue looked paler then normal, tight lines around his eyes. And he was slumping; Yue never slumped, the man had near perfect posture. Finally, Stiles shook the thoughts off and focused on the road. “The Pack couldn’t see FLY.”

“Due to the nature of the Card, FLY is under many more protection spells than SLEEP. The little magic werewolves use isn’t enough to see through it.”

“…Danny could.”

Yue looked over at him, expression tense. “That boy has magic himself.”

Stiles sighed heavily, fought down the wave of betrayal that pressed against the back of his throat. “He’s known since the beginning, hasn’t he?” 

“More than likely, yes.”

“Did you… did you know that he had magic?”

Yue hesitated, eyebrows drawing tight. “I suspected that he was… sensitive. However, he has a near perfect control of his magic; I hadn’t sensed anything from him until today, so I never had confirmation.”

“Right.” Stiles licked his lips and didn’t say anything again as he focused on tracking FLY’s magical signature.

Though they caught up with FLY quickly, Stiles held back and waited until the Card had moved into a more abandoned part of town. At that point, Stiles parked the Jeep and raced out, stared up at the Card several dozen feet above him. “JUMP can’t reach that height.” Stiles said, pulling out his key.

“Not in one jump, no.” Yue agreed, leaning back against the Jeep. “Though FLY is one of the more gentle Cards in the deck. You may not have to reach it.”

“Gottcha.” Stiles muttered. “ _Release! JUMP!_ " He took a deep breath and then jumped towards the roof one of the buildings nearby. They weren’t nearly as high up as FLY; the highest building, which Stiles didn’t aim for, was three stories, with FLY at about five stories up. Still, it got Stiles closer to where he wanted. He watched as FLY banked into a turn, started heading north, back into the more populated part of town. “Oh no you don’t. _WINDY!_ ” Windy flew up and raced after FLY.

However, FLY was considerably faster than WINDY, and managed to stay a few wing beats ahead of her until Stiles pulled her back. “We’ll just have to get closer.” He told WINDY when she drifted back to him. He took a deep breath and took off, headed for the higher buildings. By some odd chance of timing, by the time Stiles landed on the roof of the highest building, FLY was only an arm-span away from the edge, though still several feet higher. Stiles started running, jumped off when he neared the edge, and landed in a roll on FLY’s back. He reached out wildly as he rolled, dug one hand into the feathers around him and tried to keep a grip on his staff. FLY was warm, the feathers soft. Stiles got his balance, tried to keep low on FLY’s back because if he sat too high up, the wind caught him and tried to knock him off. He drew WINDY out again, shifted his grip on his staff, not entirely comfortable without a hand to dig into WINDY’s feathers. He took a deep breath and threw WINDY forward. “ _WIN-!_ ” FLY pitched into another bank, the wind shifted and caught Stiles in the side in a great gust.

He fell.

Stiles scrambled, wind rushing loudly in his ears, trying to reach out for the staff he’d lost his grip on. He couldn’t get a grip on it. He was five stories up and falling fast. He couldn’t even force his body into a position where JUMP would be able to take the majority of the fall.

12 feet above the ground, wind suddenly surged around him, supporting him and slowing his fall. The magic summoning the wind was gentle but steady, constantly moving though moving slowly. Water-based, like a river, the kind that seemed to surrender to the mountain and move around it, but, in truth, was actually carving holes into the center of it.

He was set gently onto the ground, his staff clattering to the ground a few feet away. Yue ran up and knelt next to him, expression concerned. “Are you alright?”

Stiles nodded, trying to catch his breath. “Yeah.” He looked up at Yue in confusion. “That magic wasn’t yours, was it?” he asked, because he was sure he’d felt Yue’s magic earlier; it had been cooler than the one just now, and quite still and controlled.

Yue shook his head, expression solemn, and pointedly moved his eyes to the left. Stiles blinked and followed his gaze.

Danny was there.

The man was watching FLY with a tight frown, not even paying attention to him. He was holding his own staff; it was nearly four feet in length, looked like solid metal, and runes were carved across the surface.

“Danny?” 

Danny looked over at him and sighed. “Stiles.” He greeted before turning his attention back towards FLY. The Card was moving back towards them now. Stiles watched as Danny lifted his staff and spun it around. He could feel Danny weaving the magic together, intricate, tightly controlled. “What?” he muttered.

“That’s a binding spell.” Yue said quietly as Danny directed it. Stiles watched as the spell leapt out and coiled around FLY, pinning the bird’s wings to it’s sides. FLY hit the ground roughly, struggling against the bonds and making panicked noises. Danny approached it carefully, staff held at the ready. Yue touched Stiles’ arm to get his attention. Stiles looked over at him in surprise, feeling turned about and confused. “Your staff is the only thing capable of sealing the Cards.” Yue told him. “Even as brilliantly crafted as that binding spell is, it will snap soon if you don’t seal FLY.”

Stiles stared at him for another minute before he shook himself out of his shock and leapt to his feet. He grabbed his staff at a run, heading for FLY. Danny made a motion to grab him as he moved past, but Stiles dodged around him until he stood in front of FLY. He lifted his staff and took a deep breath. “ _Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card!_ ”

Stiles held out a hand to grab FLY once it was in its Card form, but it flew past him and headed for Danny. Stiles watched, confused, as it hovered before Danny, who was staring at it in blank incomprehension. “What?”

Yue sighed and moved to stand next to Stiles. “The Cards go to the one who beat them. You may have sealed FLY, but he is the one who bound it. FLY is, by rights, his.”

“I don’t want the thing.” Danny protested, shaking his head.

“FLY.” Stiles snapped, glaring at him. When Danny looked confused, Stiles continued. “Not ‘the thing’, FLY.” Next to him, Yue turned his head to hide a pleased smile.

Danny stared at him for a minute, looking like he wasn’t sure if Stiles was serious, but finally he nodded. “Fine. I don’t want Fly.” 

“Though he is the one who won FLY, the Cards will listen to the one whose name is written on it.” Yue informed them. He looked over at Danny. “Give it to Stiles, and ownership will turn to him.”

Danny sighed and snatched the Card out of the air before approaching him. Stiles accepted FLY from him with a roiling feeling of unease. “How long have you known?” he asked quietly.

“Since the day you came to school with those in your bag.” Danny said, nodding his head to the Card Stiles was holding. “Since the day Scott turned, before even you figured it out.” 

“Wait a minute, you mean… the Alpha Pack, Ethan, you knew?”

“Yes.” Danny agreed, nodding.

“They were killing people!”

“They were werewolves. That’s not my business.” Danny snapped. “This is magic; it is my business.”

“Magic politics?” Stiles asked dumbfounded. He looked over at Yue. “There’s magic _politics_?”

Yue glanced at him briefly before focusing on Danny. “You’re from a clan, aren’t you?” Yue sighed heavily when Danny nodded. “There’s a goddamn magic clan here. Of course.”

“A clan?” Stiles demanded.

“My family has practiced magic for generations.” Danny explained. “We protect Beacon Hills from any magical phenomena. I should have done something the minute I noticed these Cards of yours were loose. I didn’t because you seemed to have a handle on it. I thought it would end quickly, the way all the werewolf problems did. But its been two months; I had to intervene.”

“So, you’ve been lying to me.”

“We all have secrets, Stiles.”

Yue grabbed his arm before Stiles could reply and stepped between them. “No one here has a cool head.” Yue said quietly. “Come by tomorrow. We’ll talk then, after we’ve had a chance to sleep on it.”

Danny eyed Yue for a minute, then nodded. “Alright, fine. I’ll be there in the morning.” He agreed.

Stiles glared at them but nodded in agreement and turned on his heel, stalking back towards his Jeep. He slammed the door shut, barely waiting for Yue to jump in as well before he started the engine and took off.

“Are you alright?” Yue asked quietly. Stiles nodded but didn’t say anything, shutting down further questions with a sharp look. They drove home in silence.

Stiles got no sleep that night. His mind chased itself around in circles; emotions- shock, betrayal, confusion- mixed together in his gut until it was impossible to sleep. He sat up all night, bouncing around the internet, barely paying attention to what he was doing. 

However, in an odd reversal of roles, Yue was sleeping. The Guardian had crashed soon after they arrived home. The man had settled down on his bed with another book, which was an often enough occurrence that Stiles barely paid it any mind. The next time Stiles had looked over though, Yue had been sleeping. Kero had settled onto the pillow next to Yue, stretched briefly, then curled up and prepared to sleep. “It’s cause he used magic today.” Kero had said as he padded around in a circle before he laid down. “We don’t have much extra magic available to us right now, so any use of it is draining. Think of it more as him recharging then sleeping.” Stiles had wasted several hours just staring at the two Guardians sleeping peacefully on his bed. It wasn’t often he got to see Yue that unguarded.

Eventually the sun rose. Stiles watched his room slowly lighten, frowning tightly, feeling as if he’d managed to accomplish exactly nothing since he’d gotten home. By the time his clock read 7:30, he’d forced himself out of his room and had wandered down to the kitchen to see if he could scavenge any food together for breakfast. He was eating cereal when his dad came down, yawning and scrubbing at his hair. The sheriff paused when he saw Stiles. “Jeese, kid, you been to bed at all?”

Stiles shrugged and kept on eating, wondering distantly if he’d remembered to close his bedroom door. Though his dad seemed to like Yue well enough, or at least the tensely polite transfer student version of Yue that “came by for studying”, he wasn’t sure how the man would react to finding Yue sleeping on his bed.

“I’ve got the night-shift today, okay, kiddo?” His dad asked, moving to pour his own breakfast.

Stiles nodded and stood to place his bowl in the sink. “Okay. Yue and Danny are going to be here later.” He informed, though his stomach rolled unpleasantly at the thought of upcoming meeting. His dad nodded and took the seat Stiles had just vacated. Stiles got another half hour to himself before the doorbell rang. Stiles bit back a sigh and pushed himself to his feet. “That would be Danny.” He said to himself.

Danny smiled unsurely when he opened the door. “Hello.” He greeted. 

Stiles nodded his greeting but didn’t say anything, merely stepped aside so Danny could enter. When the two entered the living room, he found his dad tugging on his boots. “Heading to work?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah.” The Sheriff agreed and looked up at them. “Good morning Danny. How are you doing?”

“Quite well sir.” Danny replied, smiling politely.

“That’s good. Its nice having Stiles’ friends over again.” The Sheriff said and stood up. Stiles winced when he caught Danny’s surprised expression, not sure what the other boy had taken from that statement. Before he could wonder too much, his dad came over and pulled him into a tight hug that Stiles eagerly returned. “I’ll be back late, remember. Try not to destroy the house too much, okay?”

“No promises.” Stiles said. His father laughed as he left.

“He isn’t aware of your magic?” Danny asked quietly.

“No, and he won’t be told.” Stiles replied in a steely voice. 

Danny held both hands out in surrender. “I won’t say anything to him. Just know, eventually this is going to blow up in you face.” 

Stiles ignored the warning, instead motioning the boy to sit. “I’ll be right back.” Stiles raced up to his room, found Yue still sleeping peacefully, Kero using him as a pillow. Sighing, he shook both his Guardians awake. “Come on, wake up.” He ordered.

Yue opened his eyes slowly and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?” Yue asked as he sat up. Kero fell off Yue’s chest and landed in his lap in a heap, jolting awake.

“Danny’s here.” He informed them.

Yue sighed but stood, spent a minute straightening his clothes, then followed Stiles downstairs with Kero perched on his shoulder. Danny glanced up at them when they arrived, eyes widening briefly when they landed on Kero. Stiles sighed. “Danny, Kero. Kero, Danny.”

“It’s Keroberos.” Kero corrected, puffing out his chest.

Stiles calmly flicked Kero off Yue’s shoulder. “Kero.” He repeated obnoxiously.

The Sun Guardian waved a fist at him, cheeks pushed out. Danny laughing cut off whatever he was going to say however, and all three of them turned to look at Danny. “He’s the one I sensed in your bag that day, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, that would have been him.” Stiles agreed. “He sneaked in on me. I hadn’t learned to sense him yet.”

Stiles sat down across from Danny, Kero gliding down onto his shoulder. Yue remained standing, leaning against the armrest and watching Danny carefully. Danny sighed under the attention and turned to face Yue more. “I would like to apologize for my behavior towards you.” Yue’s expression turned to shock at the pronouncement. “I hadn’t recognized your nature as a Guardian Spirit before now. I’d merely known you weren’t human and the timing of your appearance, just after Stiles’ magic woke up, seemed rather convenient.”

“Is that why you tried to warn me away from him?” Stiles asked curiously.

“Yes. I thought at first that you knew he wasn’t human, considering your history of non-human friends, but then I wasn’t sure you did know, and then I mostly was just very confused.” Danny hesitated, then sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “In truth, my family knows very little about what’s going on.”

Stiles and Yue shared a look. After a moment, Stiles nodded, letting Yue take control of the conversation. “A trade of information then, since the presence of a clan here was unknown to us.”

Danny nodded. “As I’ve already said, my family has been practicing magic for a very long time. Beacon Hills has been under our protection for generations. All these magical constructs running around has made my mother very… antsy.”

“If Beacon Hills is under your protection then why did you do nothing about Peter or the Kanima or the Alpha Pack?” Stiles asked.

“The Hale Pack settled here before we did. They allowed us in their territory because we agreed to a policy of non-interference on both sides. As long as there was a living Hale in the territory, the treaty stood, even if that Hale was catatonic. Unless magic was involved, our hands were tied.”

Stiles stared. “Your hands were tied. That’s why you slept with the psychotic mass-murdering Alpha werewolf.”

“No, I slept with Ethan because his muscles were ridiculous.” Danny corrected, making Kero bark out laughter. Yue sighed and reached over to flick Kero off his perch.

Kero managed to catch himself before he went tumbling too far and glared over at his brother. “What the hell was that for?” Kero demanded.

“Learn some professionalism and we’ll stop.” Yue said blandly.

Danny was laughing at their antics, though he tried to keep it quiet. Though Stiles didn’t want to destroy the moment that had obviously helped soothe some of Danny’s own tension, there was really only one question he cared about. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Danny paused and looked at him before sighing. “I would have, if it had just been me, but…”

“It was your entire family.” Stiles finished, sighing heavily himself. He yanked a hand through his hair. Christ, how was he supposed to stay angry with Danny when the boy brought up family.

“That’s right. I only revealed myself when I did, because my mother decided we couldn’t let the situation continue without intervening. I had been trying to figure how to bring it up with you all day, which was what made my nerves so short. When that construct appeared, I kind of snapped, for which I’m sorry.”

Stiles waved the apology aside. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ve done worse to you trying to deal with what happened with the Pack.”

Danny shared an odd look with Yue. “About the Pack… what happened with them? Their behavior’s been… odd, lately.”

“Ah. I suppose its my turn then.” Stiles said quietly, not exactly pleased they’d gotten to his section of story time so quickly. He told Danny about what had happened with the Pack, what Derek had said though it hurt to do so, ignoring the confused and disbelieving look on Danny’s face; he explained his deal with that shop-keeper, how it had gotten him the Cards and his Guardians.

When he was done, Danny was leaning back in his seat, expression pensive. “You made a deal with a Wish-Granter.” Danny said, though since Stiles suspected Danny was actually talking to himself, he didn’t reply. “And with as many Cards as you’re describing, its going to be a quite a while until you’ve captured them all.”

“That’s right.” Yue agreed next to him. “If the current rate maintains, I’m say a good projection would be at least a year until we’re finished.”

Danny sighed and leaned forward to meet Stiles’ eyes, clasping his hands between his knees. “My family can’t allow magical constructs to be running around for that long without intervening. It was only a personal favor that it took us this long.” Danny told him seriously. “I know my mother, she’s not going to let you go running around her town without doing something about it. And because I know my mother, I’m going to personally volunteer to help you, before she can volunteer me herself.”

Stiles stared back. “What?” he asked, shocked.

“I’m offering to help capture the Cards, like I did today with FLY. All the Cards would return to your ownership regardless of who captures them, of course. I’m not going to interfere with a deal with a Wish-Granter.”

“We accept.” Yue said before Stiles could speak.

Stiles turned to look at his Moon Guardian with raised eyebrows. “We do?” he asked.

“We do.” Kero agreed for Yue. “Better to work with a town’s clan then risk pissing them off. Besides, we actually to get off really well with this deal.” 

Stiles nodded after a second, because anything that got Yue and Kero to agree with that speed was rather agreeing to himself. Danny’s expression turned relieved, the tension in his shoulder’s dropping. Stiles thought he heard Danny mutter something to himself about his mother not killing him, which made Yue’s lips tighten as he struggled to hold in his amusement. “Alright.” Danny said as he stood up. “I’ll tell my mother what I’ve learned and of our agreement. She’ll more than likely want to talk to you herself though, so be warned.” 

“That’s fine.” Stiles agreed, though he felt faintly queasy. He’d met Danny’s mother once when he was little; she was terrifying. 

“You’ll call me if another Card acts up, won’t you?” Danny asked, looking over at him.

Stiles nodded. “Oh, yeah, sure.”

“I’ll see you later then.” Danny replied, smiling kindly. Stiles smiled back and walked him to the door.

“See ya.” He replied. He closed the door behind Danny and leaned his head against it.

“I thought that went rather well.” Kero said, hovering a few feet away.

“It did.” Yue agreed. “Clan’s can be quite territorial. I’m surprised they didn’t demand recompense for intruding.”

Stiles turned to face them, aghast. “They could have done that?!” he demanded.

“And been well within their rights to do so.” Yue agreed.

“I hate magic politics.” Stiles decided and stalked up to his room, hoping he might be able to get some sleep now that the mess with Danny had been cleared up and the knot in his stomach had unwound. The Guardians let him go.

\-----

Danny was helping his uncle prepare dinner when his mother entered the kitchen, one of his nieces settled on her hip. She had only had one child, Danny, and so tended to spoil her brother’s kids relentlessly. “Danny, darling, light of my life.” She greeted, smiling widely.

Danny couldn’t help but flinch at the words. His mother was amazing and loved him dearly, and while he may be her darling, she never called him the light of her life. It was a joke among their family that her soul mate was magic, as she’d practically devoted her entire life to it. It was the reason she’d had Danny so late in life and hadn’t considered having a second child. “What do you want?” he asked warily.

His mother’s smile softened, eyes brimming with amusement. “Would you go see if our guest is staying for dinner?” she requested, nodding her head towards the backyard. 

Danny blinked and stretched his senses out. On the edges of their property was a gathering of moon magic, the way it was weaved together marking it as a construction. He sighed and handed the whisk over to his mother, ignoring her disgruntled and confused expression as he headed outside. “We know you’re here, Yue.” He called, staying on the back porch.

There was a minute’s pause, then the Guardian walked towards him. He stayed a few feet away, watching Danny with careful eyes. Danny was relieved to see the man was still staying in his human guise, though Danny was beginning to think that wasn’t a much of a choice as he’d originally thought. Still, Yue wasn’t trying to purposefully appear threatening beyond the usual dramatics one tended to find among the magical. (Danny secretly wondered if that little flare for dramatics, which the rest of his family seemed to possess, had somehow skipped over him entirely.) “Good evening.” Danny greeted. “Mother wishes to know if you’re staying for dinner.”

“No.” Yue denied, shaking his head. Danny wanted to applaud the man who had crafted Yue; Guardian Spirits always were so much more humanized than nature spirits, but Yue and Kero both were true works of art. Or perhaps that was more of a testament to the two’s age, if they’d become so human from centuries of protecting humans.

“How can we help you then?”

“You yourself have no stated interest in the Cards. I was merely wondering if that same disinterest extends to the rest of your family.”

“It does. Most of my family doesn’t even have the kind of power that would be necessary to use those Cards. And in all honesty, I’m not sure I have the power to support the full deck myself.” He replied. He was faintly puzzled by the way the tension in the man’s shoulders eased.

“Thats good. If there had been more than one captor, it would have resulted in a Judgment at the end.” Yue informed.

Danny smiled in realization. “And you’ve already grown fond of thinking of Stiles as your master.” He said. “Doesn’t exactly make for fair judgments.”

To his growing amusement, Yue seemed to almost blush. “Yes, well…” Yue trailed off, coughing awkwardly.

“Though my mother probably wouldn’t mind a look at your crafting. It is rather brilliantly done.” He said, just to watch the way Yue stiffened.

“Perhaps one of the Cards would be obliging.” Yue said neutrally.

Danny struggled not to laugh at the man. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” he asked again.

Yue nodded. “I don’t eat.” Yue replied. “And Stiles will be noticing my absence soon.”

“Alright.” Danny agreed, nodding. He watched as Yue disappeared, smiling pleasantly, like he didn’t know both of them were aware of Yue’s true purpose in coming. Once the Guardian was gone, he headed back inside.

“What did he want?” his mother asked, having handed over whisking to her brother.

“Just a Guardian checking out potential threats to his charge.” He assured. “I think he’s still a bit confused about how laid back we’ve been about this whole Card mess. He’s waiting for a backlash.”

His mother snorted and rolled her eyes, but he could see the fondness in her expression. She had did have a fondness for budding magic-users. She considered it her job to assist them in growing. Danny sometimes wished she’d assist him a little less then she did.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. Best let them get used to us.” His mother said and turned her attention back to his niece. Danny rolled his eyes at the faces she made and agreed and turned back to dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it isn't already obvious, the Darach never happened in this universe, which is why the Mahealani's didn't get involved then.


	11. An Arrow for Your Pain

“There it is!”

Stiles jerked around at the shout in time to catch a flash of DASH’s magic leaping away from him. He took off running after DASH, bounding around trees as fast as he could. DASH’s coloring was the only reason he managed to keep an eye on the Card though; the Card was small and as fast as a werewolf and looked like a fox, all thing that helped the Card disappear into the woods. Thankfully, her coat was silver-grey, which made her stand out against all the green and brown. “ _SAND!_ ”

SAND raced out towards DASH, managing to curl around her back foot and yank her off balance. The little Card went flying, landing in a tangled heap. Unfortunately, DASH was able to shake off the stun and take off again before SAND could wrap fully around her. She disappeared back into the foliage.

Stiles tried to follow her, and, while her coat and the trail of her magic were clear, he simply couldn’t keep up. “Shit.” He cursed, slowing to a walk. A few seconds later, Danny joined him, leaning against his staff as he breathed deeply. “She’s starting to piss me off.” Stiles told his friend, leaning down to brace his hands against his knees.

Danny made an agreeing, grumbling sound. “Well, ambush didn’t work.” Danny said after catching his breath. “What’s next?”

“Are you sure we can’t just zap her?” Stiles asked, fingering THUNDER. THUNDER rumbled amusement back towards him.

Danny rolled his eyes. “I’m sure. What about, what about that one from last week?”

“You mean LOOP?” he asked, and ignored Danny’s grumble about “no idea how you remember them all.” Stiles thought about it for another minute, then nodded. As long as he made LOOP small enough.

“Right. Lets find her.”

It took about ten minutes to find and get close enough to the little speed demon again. “LOOP!” Stiles called, watched the red lines that marked LOOP’s boundaries appear just in front of DASH. The Card sailed over the line, disappeared, and reappeared facing Stiles. DASH wheeled back rapidly, making a chirping bark of confusion and distress. Dash finally stopped her forward momentum enough to turn around and race away. She ran right into Danny’s binding spell.

Stiles grinned as DASH sank to the ground, making panicked chirps but not struggling. “Nice job.” He told Danny as he approached DASH. Stiles knelled in front of the Card and held his hand just in front of her snout. He didn’t move until DASH began to calm down and sniff curiously at his fingers. At that point, he carefully began to scratch under DASH’s chin and raised the staff with his other hand. “ _Return to the form you were meant to be in, Sakura Card._ ”

“You have a soft spot for the animal ones, don’t you?” Danny asked, watching him curiously.

“I have a soft spot for the frightened ones.” Stiles corrected as he grabbed DASH and stood.

Danny shook his head, smiling slightly. “Well, now that that’s done,” Danny looked at him, expression suddenly solemn. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Stiles examined his expression and felt a sinking sense of dread. “The good news?” he requested hesitantly.

“I lied. There is no good news.” Danny replied blandly. “My mother has respectfully requested your presence at tomorrow night’s dinner.”

He didn’t blanch. He didn’t; he manfully restrained the urge. Nevermind that he’d been waiting for (dreading) this invitation for nearly three weeks; that as the days went on he’d kept getting tenser and more anxious. Finally, he’d just given up on waiting for it. Which was probably why he was getting it now. Danny’s mother was scary like that. “I suppose when you say ‘respectfully requests’, you don’t actually mean I have a choice.”

“Not really, no.” Danny grinned at Stiles’ expression. “Don’t worry so much. She likes you.”

“That does not actually help.” Stiles told him. Danny laughed at him. Of course he did; Danny had taken great pleasure in his mounting anxiety. The other boy liked watching him squirm. It really made Stiles wonder why he’d ever thought Danny was a good person. So Stiles rolled his eyes and began the trek back to where he though they’d parked.

They must have gotten even more turned around than Stiles had thought, because they hit a side-road long before the hiking path Stiles had been aiming for. Stiles frowned and looked down the unpaved road. “I think… we’re on the turn off to the old Hale House.” He said, voice getting quieter as he spoke. He hoped today wasn’t a Pack training day; he was pretty sure they were close enough to the house for the Pack to hear them.

Before he could reorient himself, he sensed a flash of magic from near the Hale House. He froze, closed his eyes in resignation.

Danny frowned down the road. “Isn’t that a Card?”

“Yue!” Stiles called, ignoring him. There was a moment’s pause, then Yue appeared at his shoulder. Stiles pointed down the road. “That Card, is it dangerous?” Yue looked down the road and, to Stiles’ surprise, his expression softened. The Guardian shook his head. “Can it be left there?” Yue nodded. “Great! Which way to the cars?”

“Stiles?” Danny asked quietly, concerned. 

Stiles ignored him and began a steady march back to the cars, following Yue. He could feel Danny boring a hole into his back all the way there. However, when they reached the cars, Danny merely smiled brightly. “Come over after school?”

“Yeah sure.” He jerked his thumb towards Yue. “Should I bring this asshole?” Yue glared at him.

“Bring them both.” Danny waved one hand in a quick goodbye and hopped into his car.

Stiles watched him drive away. “I’m going to die.” He said cheerfully.

Yue rolled his eyes and turned towards the Jeep. “Ready to go?” he asked. Stiles nodded and clamored into his Jeep.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go after it?” Yue asked as they pulled out.

Stiles didn’t bother pretending he didn’t know what Yue was talking about. “Yeah, I’m… I can’t go back there, not yet. Its too many memories.” 

The house was a lost cause; everyone found the place- or at least the sheer number of bodies the place had claimed- creepy. No one bothered to repair it. However, it made a good centering point for training sessions out in the woods. Stiles couldn’t count the afternoons he’d spent there, watching the Pack, studying with Allison. He had seen too much of the house in his life; both good and bad.

Stiles headed home.

\-----

_Peter was chasing him through the forest, mouth full of teeth. His form was shifting constantly between human and wolf, skin and fur appearing in patches, rippling across his body. Stiles ran, and sometimes he saw the others. Scott was there, hands bloody and eyes red; Allison was made of fire. Derek walked away._

_Peter snapped at his heels, forcing Stiles to run faster. The forest cleared before him, roots digging themselves up and scurrying out of his way, and closed behind him. Peter roared as he smashed through the trees that got in his way._

_Stiles could see the Hale House. It was burning, covered in flowers- white ones, some orange, and what he thought might be wolfsbane- that were on fire but didn’t burn. There was a woman in front of the house; her hair was blonde, except sometimes it was black; her hands were sometimes burned and sometimes had claws of blood._

_There was a roar behind him. He turned and saw Peter. Another wolf was challenging Peter, blue-white, and with a roar made of thunder._

_An angel reached for him._

\-----

Stiles came awake with Yue’s hands gentle on his shoulders. He sat up carefully, breathing heavily. THUNDER was whining loudly in the back of his head, drowning out the others. “Yes, yes, I’m alright.” He assured, giving them a mental swat to shut them up.

“Nightmare. You didn’t scream. Its 4 o’clock.” Yue told him clinically, aware of the information he’d want from ease of long practice.

Stiles sighed and buried his hands in his hair.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yue asked quietly.

“…That fucking House.” Stiles replied tightly. “Peter, Kate, Kali, Derek. The usual.”

“The house is new.” Yue pointed out.

“It was on fire.” Stiles answered, hands dropping mindlessly into his lap. “There were flowers everywhere. I don’t know what they were.”

Yue frowned and walked over to the desk. “Flowers?” Yue asked, sounding distracted.

“Yeah.” Stiles agreed, watching as Yue pulled out the Book and began to shuffle through the deck. “I think one was wolfsbane. But the other two, one was orange and the other white, I don’t know those.”

Yue nodded. When Yue approached, he was holding a Card; Stiles thought it might be FLOWER. Yue sat down on the bed next to him and held out the Card. As Stiles watched, the three flowers he’d seen bloomed up from the Card’s surface. The orange and white ones tumbled down onto his bed, while the wolfsbane curled around the Card and up Yue’s arm. “Orange mock, for deception. White poppy, for mourning. Wolfsbane; for poison, hunters, and shape-shifters.” Yue explained quietly.

“I didn’t know that.” 

“FLOWER did.” The wolfsbane shrank back into the Card and Yue stood to place it back into the Book. “You have a lot of emotions regarding that house; FLOWER provided you an expression for them.”

Stiles carefully gathered the remaining flowers and pooled them onto his night-stand. Then he stood. “Food.” He said, stretching.

He bounded down to the 1st story. There were a few remaining frozen waffles in the freezer, so he grabbed the last. When he clambered back to his room, finished waffles in hand, there was a circle of new flowers on his pillow. He stared at them in surprise and no little confusion. “Is she purposely choosing ones I don’t know?” he demanded.

“Periwinkle and myrtle.” Yue told him calmly. “Friendship and Love.”

Stiles picked up the wreathe. FLOWER gave a happy mumble in return. Laughing quietly, he placed it gently on top of the Book. “This’ll have to stay here for today.” He said, collecting the Cards and placing them in his pocket. “Kero!” he called towards the ball of fur currently burrowed half under his pillow.

The Sun Guardian jolted awake. Stiles bit back a laugh when he saw how Kero’s fur was all mussed up. “I’m up! I’m up!” Kero shouted, looking around wildly.

“You’re coming with me to school today, remember?” Stiles reminded. “So that we can head to Danny’s after?”

“Oh, right.” Kero shook his head and his face to better wake himself up. “I’m good. Let’s get this show on the road.”

\-----

When he got to school, Danny was leaning against his locker, ignoring Scott’s and Isaac’s curious looks. “Morning, Stiles.” Danny greeted, moving so Stiles could get at his locker. “Yue. How’s your brother doing?”

“As annoying as always.” Yue answered blandly. “Though you’ll get to experience that for yourself tonight.”

“Eh, my cousins can keep him occupied. You ready for tonight, Stiles?”

“Well, that depends.” Stiles began to pull out his books, could see out of the corner of his eye that Isaac was failing at pretending he wasn’t paying attention. “Is your mother planning on letting me leave alive?”

Danny snickered. “You really shouldn’t worry. She likes you.” 

Stiles closed his locker and leaned against it, raising both his eyebrows at Danny. “Literally every time I have met her, she spent the whole time glaring at me.”

“That because she knew you had potential-.” Danny clearly cut himself off on the rest of his sentence, his gaze on the two werewolves behind Stiles. Stiles didn’t look at them, kept his back towards them pointedly, and merely waited for Danny to find the words he wanted. “She has a _sense_ for these things.” Danny said, his tone light now, but he held Stiles’ gaze pointedly.

Stiles didn’t need clarification. Danny’s mother had been able to sense his magic, even when it had been dormant. All the glares had been her keeping on eye on the potential sorcerer in her territory. Stiles rolled that thought around, then decided he was really glad he hadn’t run into her since he’d started capturing the Cards. He might not have come out of it with his skin attached. 

Next to him, Yue was doing that silly expression that meant he was both amused and exasperated with everything around him. It screwed his face up weirdly, like when someone paused a video at the wrong second. It was no where close to as cool as Yue probably thought it was, but Stiles didn’t have the heart to tell him. Yue shook his head to chase off whatever thought had given him that look and when he turned towards Stiles, his expression was bland again. “Class?” Yue reminded.

“Ah, he’s right. I’ll see you tonight.” Danny said brightly and took off down the hall.

Yue started down the hall as well. Stiles adjusted his grip on his books and made to follow the Guardian when Scott asked him, “So you and Danny are friends now?”

Stiles paused and turned to look at the wolves. Scott was pulling the wounded puppy-dog eyes, watching him with a bowed head. Isaac was tugging gently at Scott’s elbow, trying to pull him away and not looking at Stiles. “Yes, Scott.” Stiles replied, surprised himself by the levelness in his voice. “This may be news for you, but my life does not actually revolve around you.”

Stiles smiled a little meanly and left.

\-----

Stiles did not race Danny to his house. 

He didn’t. Honest.

Still, he pulled into the driveway just a few seconds ahead of Danny. Kero didn’t wait for Stiles to even put the Jeep into park, instead flying out through the open window towards the house to slap his paw against the front door pointedly, looking back at them smugly. Next to Stiles, Yue was looking a little green. Stiles managed not to laugh at him, though it was a close thing. Going by Yue’s expression, the Guardian knew anyway. “I hate you so much.” Yue told him.

“No, you don’t.” Stiles told him cheerfully as he got out.

Danny pulled in, giving him an amused look through the windshield. Stiles smiled widely, as innocent as he could manage. He hadn’t done anything. He could see Danny start to laugh, so he turned away.

The front door suddenly opened, sending Kero flying into the house with a cry of surprise. Three little kids immediately came pouring out. Stiles’ eyes widened just as they crashed into him, hugging tightly at his legs. His arms pinwheeled and he would have fallen on his ass if Yue hadn’t quickly caught him under the arms and balanced him. “Thank you. You are a godsend.” Stiles said emphatically, leaning fully against Yue.

Yue huffed and pushed him back onto his feet before sweeping down and pulling the little girl into his arms with practiced ease. Stiles gapped after him in confusion for a minute, then noticed the man now standing in the doorway; the man was holding a dazed Kero in his arms. Stiles immediately straightened, his posture perhaps a little too tight. “Hi.” He greeted.

The man smiled at him kindly. “Hello. Sorry about the kids; Danny’s been telling stories so they’ve been quite anxious to meet you.”

Stiles couldn’t bite back the smug smile he aimed at Danny. “Really?”

Danny rolled his eyes as he slammed the car door. “Did you have to tell him that?” Danny complained as he approached. Danny stopped for a minute when he caught sight of Yue carrying around one of his nieces, fingers playing with her hair. “Okay, that's weird.” Danny noted, then resolutely turned away to face Stiles. “Come on.” Danny urged and headed into the house.

Stiles followed. As he entered, Danny's uncle held out his hands, Kero still shaking off his surprise in the man's palms. “Thank you.” he mumbled, picking Kero up gently. “I swear, most of the time I'm guarding him.”

The man smiled at him in amusement. “This way; my sister wants to see you.” he said, motioning Stiles through the house.

Ms Mahaleni was waiting for them in a small breakfast nook. The table had been set already with a set of fine china and some snacks. Ms Mahaleni was watching him from one side of the table, holing a steaming cup. She hadn't changed from what he remembered of her; a stern, fit looking older woman, black hair that was quickly graying held back in a simple braid. She wore several rings, but no wedding band; to Stiles' knowledge she had never even been engaged. Despite her love for children, which had urged her to have Danny regardless of her older age, she had never shown any interest in a long time romantic relationship. Her eyes, despite the growing winkles, remained firm and unwavering as she examined him. “Hello Stiles.” She greeted. “Do you like tea?”

He nodded unsurely, sat down across from her when she motioned him to. Kero flew down off his shoulder to sit on the table, beginning to munch happily at the snacks. Yue, on his part, refused to sit, instead taking up guard at his shoulder. He busied himself with pouring a cup of tea so he wouldn't have to meet her gaze. Her magic was humming through the room already, through no effort of her own; it felt sturdy where it brushed against him, solid, the mountain to Danny's river.

Stiles stiffened in surprise when Danny clapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and watched in shock as Danny smiled at him encouragingly and then left. Danny left, abandoning him to his mother. Stiles stared after him in shock, was only pulled back when Ms Mahaleni muttered, “Your tea's getting cold.”

He jolted then picked up the cup guiltily. The tea scalded when he took a sip, proving exactly how NOT cold it was getting. He grimaced and forced himself to swallow, took deep breathes to ease the pain in his mouth.

Ms Mahaleni made a sudden 'hm'ing sound across from him, loud in the silence. Stiles fumbled in surprise, cup hitting the plate with a clatter. He winced, heard Yue sigh. Kero gave him a sympathetic expression, one ruined by the little smirk he was trying to surpress.

Ms Mahaleni was nice enough not to mention his clumsiness; her facial expression said she didn't even realize he'd done it. “You've grown.” She observed. Her tone didn't say if she approved or not.

Stiles didn't need to be told she wasn't talking about his height. “I've been busy.” He admitted.

“I'm quite aware.” She paused, just watched him again, then finally set down her now almost empty cup. “You've brought danger to my home.”

“I did. I'm sorry.” he agreed. “I was in a bad place and I didn't think how it would affect other people.”

“Was it worth it?”

“I'm not sure yet.” he answered truthfully. “This Card capturing thing, its not always pleasant.”

“I don't doubt that.” Ms Mahaleni agreed. She reached out for the tea pot to refill her cup. As she stirred in honey, she continued to watch Stiles. “It is good for you. Your magic is much stronger.”

“You always knew I had magic didn't you?” he asked.

“I did.”

“You didn't do anything?” Yue asked next to him, the first thing he'd said since arriving. Stiles looked over at him in surprise; Yue's expression was blank but his shoulder were tense. “You just let someone with that much power run around? Where anyone could find him?”

“Yue!” Stiles hissed.

“It's alright.” Ms Mahaleni soothed, looking up at his guardian. “He is right. There are people in the world who seek out sorcerers like you; kids with a lot of power and no idea how to use it. That I left you alone in my territory with no training is odd. And no bit dangerous.”

“So why didn't you?”

“Because there's a darkness in you.” She answered calmly, staring him right in the eye. “Something in you, it's like the wolves here. A predator. Honestly, when you fell in with them, I was relieved.”

Stiles stared back, wanted to disagree. Knew deep down she wasn't wrong. Running with the wolves had always come so easy to him, even during the war with the Alphas. Watching Allison calmly slit Kali's throat at the end of it had barely fazed him; he'd had no problem helping Lydia mix explosives to take down the twins. The rage, the violence, that had nearly caused him to rip ERASE in half had come easy. “You're not wrong.” he agreed after a minute, shaken.

Ms Mahaleni hummed in acknowledgment. “Danny tells me you no longer run with the Pack now.”

Stiles stiffened, felt Yue shift closer to press one arm against his shoulder. Ms Mahaleni's eyes flickered over to Yue briefly, eyebrows raised in surprise, then moved back to him. “He's right. Things happened. The wolves and I no longer talk. Its complicated.”

Ms Mahaleni continued to watch him for another minute before her expression changed into something softer, sympathetic. “I understand. We won't mention your activities to the Pack, though I do suppose they've forgotten about us.” Stiles relaxed with a sigh, nodding back quickly in thanks. She smiled at him, obviously amused. “Your... Cards, I suppose its a bit late to call the whole thing off.” She mentioned, this time directed at Yue; the Guardian nodded. “Well, anything you three require to expedite their capture, we're happy to offer.”

“We appreciate it.” Yue said, before Stiles could.

Ms Mahaleni smiled, then stood. “Come then. No doubt my son is close to pulling out his hair worrying about us.” She mentioned. Stiles hopped to his feet immediately, couldn't help the way his shoulders slumped in relief. He smiled widely, a smile Ms Mahaleni returned easily. “I believe they've taken the nieces outside to play.”

Stiles immediately turned on his heel and headed towards the back door. Yue followed, sped up just enough to press a shoulder against his. “You did good.” he said quietly. Stiles nodded in acknowledgment, took a deep breath, then let it out.

“That's... that's great. Let's never do magic politics again.” he replied as he opened the back door. Yue smiled slightly and nodded, following him out easily.

Outside, three of the girls were running away from Danny and Danny's uncle. There were two little balls of light at both ends of the yard. The last niece was standing next to one of the balls, bouncing on the balls of her heels. Yue made a sound of recognition. “Kero!” Yue called over his shoulder. “The littles are playing _Herders_.”

There was a moment of nothing, then Kero busted through the back door with a shout of joy. The little Sun Guardian immediately zoomed over to the fourth little girl, practically vibrating out of his skin as he waited. As Stiles watched in confusion, the little blue light turned red; Kero and the little girl immediately took off, trying to head for the other blue ball on the other side of the yard. The uncle turned from chasing after the three older girls to run after them.

Stiles watched them for a minute in complete confusion. “I don't think I know this game.” he admitted to Yue.

“It's an older game.” Yue replied. Yue bent towards him to explain, lifting one hand to point when appropriate. “I've heard it called a few names. The little girls and Kero are supposed to be sheep. Danny and his uncles are shepherds. The goal is for the sheep to reach the safe zone, which is the that little ball on the left. The shepherds are trying to herd them behind the ball on the right. Each zone has a ten second timer, then the sheep have to start running again. The goal is to get all the sheep in one zone.”

Stiles thought about that, watching as Kero cheerfully dodged between them, obviously cheating by flying. Stiles nodded to himself. “I think the shepherds are a little outnumbered.” He said casually to Yue.

Yue made a thoughtful sound then nodded. “I suppose you're right.” Yue agreed, just before he ran for Kero, grabbed his brother by his tail and then flung Kero towards the ball on the right. The red light turned blue.

Kero immediately turned towards his brother, fist raised angrily. “You can't grab me!” Kero shouted. Yue paused to shoot his brother a sharp grin before returning to the chase. Stiles laughed at their antics then cheerfully joined in, helping Danny to herd the oldest girl to join Kero.

\-----  
By the time Stiles got home, he was sweaty, had grass stains on his knees, and was close to exhausted. Kero was resting in his bag; he had grumbled about Yue purposely targeting him throughout the game during the drive, but had ended up following asleep half way home. Stiles carefully eased his bag off, hid it behind the table next to the door so Kero could easily slip out. Then he headed to the living room and crashed on the couch. “Tough day?” his dad asked, shuffling his papers in the arm chair.

Stiles groaned, lifting his head only enough to mutter out, “Children are exhausting.” The Sheriff laughed to himself. Stiles slowly turned onto his side to watch his dad. “What are you doing?” He asked.

“A case.” The Sheriff said. Stiles made an inquisitive sound that caused the Sheriff to look up and glare at him. “Only telling you to get you to stay away.” The Sheriff warned him. “Apparently there's a girl in the woods near the park shooting arrows at people.”

Stiles sighed and closed his eyes, no longer interested. He wondered briefly what Allison was hunting now, hoped it wasn't one of the Cards again, then lost the thought. He reburied his head in the pillow. “I'll stay out of the park for a while.” he muttered.

“Thank you.” The Sheriff said agreeably. “And if you see a blue ten-year-old girl with a bow, call me before you chase after her.”

Stiles' head shot up from the pillow to stare at his father. “Come again?” he asked in shock.

“That's the most common witness description: a blue girl, in an all blue outfit, about ten years old, with an archery bow. This is why I hate taking witness statements. No one ever makes sense.”

“That's... interesting.” Stiles muttered, mind spinning. He forced himself to his feet, biting back a tired groan. “I'm going to take a shower.” he said, then darted back to the door. He grabbed his bag and ran up the stairs to the bathroom. By the time Stiles locked himself in the bathroom and opened his bag, Kero was shaking himself awake.

“I never get a good nap in this place.” Kero muttered to himself and flew out of the bag.

“There's a little blue girl in the park with an archery bow.” Stiles told him tiredly.

Kero crossed his arms in thought. “That sounds like ARROW.” Kero told him. “She's one of Yue's, so he'd know how sure. She's a tricky one; the arrows she fires multiply in the air.”

Stiles stared at him for a minute in horror then shook his head rapidly. “That, that, no. Its... its too late to deal with that. Danny and me will deal with it tomorrow.” He opened the bathroom door, looked around briefly, then let Kero zoom out. “Good night.” he breathed quietly, then turned to his shower.

\------  
Stiles woke up with his muscles still tired, but thankfully nothing felt pulled. He sat up slowly and stretched, groaning at the satisfying pull. Yue was sitting at his computer desk, flipping through one of Stiles' books. Stiles stared at him for a minute then huffed and stood. “You know, I'm actually so used to this, knowing you're in here while I sleep isn't even creepy anymore.” he noted, pulling his red hoodie out.

“Yue ignored his comment with the ease of long practice. “Kero's right. The Card in the park is ARROW.”

Stiles nodded in acknowledgment. “Right; I'll tell Danny later.” He jogged down the stairs quickly, found Kero already waiting with their classic breakfast of poptarts. “Thanks.” he said brightly. “So ARROW, she's an aggressive Card?”

“That's correct. Her main asset is the amount of arrows she fires, and she's quite weak if you can get close enough.” Yue told him, resting against the counter.

“You make getting close sound easy.” Stiles complained. He grabbed the pop-tarts off the counter, threw his bag over his shoulder, and motioned Yue to head for his car. “I'll make sure to come pick you up before we go after ARROW.” he told Kero over his shoulder as he walked out. Kero waved at them as they left, still chewing his pop-tart happily.

Danny was waiting for him at his locker. “Your cousins are a menace.” he told Danny as he approached. “I am never playing _Herders_ again!” Danny laughed brightly, grin wide. Stiles opened his locker, kept his tone light. “Hey, did you hear about the attacks in the park? Apparently there's a little girl attacking people. With a bow.” He smiled back at Danny, taking some enjoyment in the way Danny's expression completely fell.

“I wish I'd never met you.” Danny hissed. “We just had a Card two days ago.”

Stiles's smile stretched into a grin. “Welcome to Card capturing.” he said, laughing at Danny's irritated expression. He closed his locker and started for his class. “I was thinking later tonight, around 5 o'clock.”

Danny sighed tiredly but nodded. “Yes, yes. That's fine.” Danny continued for a few feet with him then paused, eyes going wide. “Did you say she has an archery bow?” Danny demanded incredulously. Stiles kept walking while continuing to laugh loudly.

Danny kept glaring at him the whole day. “Taking down kids with bows is not what I signed up for.” he muttered several times. Each time Stiles laughed.

“You didn't really know what you were signing up for at all.” Stiles replied every time he heard. Yue snickered.

Stiles went home, tried to cram as much homework in before he had to leave as he could. Yue merely rested on the bed, reading his new book. Stiles really had to wonder when Yue got his homework done, because Stiles always saw him turn it in, yet hadn't every actually seen him do the actual work. He really hated Yue when he thought about it.

“Stiles?” he heard his dad call up the stairs.

Stiles pulled himself out of his homework, glad to shake off thoughts of algebra. “Yeah?”

“I have to go out. There's been another attack in the park. You gonna be able to take care of yourself?”

“Yeah, I'm planning to go out with Danny around 5 tonight.” Stiles answered, before his thoughts caught up with his dad's words. “You heading out to the park?”

“Yeah. I might be back late. See you later.”

“Be careful.” he called absentmindedly. He listened to the front door open and close, the sirens come on as his dad left.

Yue watched him for a minute. “You're going to follow him, aren't you?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Stiles said, then stood. “Can you stay here? I'm going to use FLY so my car isn't seen.”

“It's no problem. Take Kero.” Yue ordered.

Stiles nodded, already pulling out his key. “ _Release!_ Kero!” He called. He turned back to Yue. “If I’m not back by 5, can you call Danny and tell him what’s happened so he can meet up with me?”

“Yes, of course.” Yue agreed as Kero flew over to them, black eyes wide with worry.

“Ready to go, kid?” Kero asked.

Stiles patted the Cards in his pocket and nodded, easing open his window. “I’ll call you if anything happens.” He assured before pulling himself up onto the roof. He heard Yue close the window behind him. He stayed crouched, hoping no one looked up before FLY’s magic could shield him. He glanced briefly behind him, found Kero waiting and ready, eyes serious for once. They exchanged quick nods, then Stiles reached for the Cards. “ _FLY!_ ” The Card wrapped around him in great streams of magic, hiding him from sight as the protective spells fell into place, preventing anyone from noticing him. When the magic faded, two great white wings extended from his back.

Stiles took a deep breath, then ran for the edge of the roof, throwing himself off with a sweep of the wings. He easily glided higher and headed for the park, Kero right behind him.

Police sirens were lighting up one of the nature trails through the small woods near the park. Stiles hovered for a minute, looking around; he couldn’t feel ARROW nearby, though the whole trail was covered in traces of her magic. He could see his dad standing near an ambulance, taking witness statements. Scattered around the trail were little arrows that were leaking magic. Stiles flew down to one of the older trees that had been peppered with arrows and perched on a branch to examine one. The arrow was tiny, obviously meant for a child’s arm length; it glowed blue in the dim light. “Kero.” He called, as quietly as possible. 

The Sun Guardian flew down to him. “Yeah, that’s ARROW’s doing alright.” Kero agreed. “She’s around here somewhere, but good luck getting her to appear before she wants to.”

“Time to play the waiting game then.” Stiles muttered. When Kero nodded, he sighed and settled more comfortably against the trunk. “I hate this game.”

Stiles kept a close eye on his dad, watched as the Sheriff moved around the crime scene, approached the forensic team several times. Stiles could have told him they wouldn’t find anything. It was 4:30 when he pulled out his phone to update Yue again on the nothing that was happening when a sudden burst of magic had him on his feet. He didn’t have time to react more than that when ARROW burst from the trees to his left and fired down at the police team that was beginning to pack up.

She fired one arrow from her bow, but as it sailed through the air more appeared beside it. Nearly 20 arrows hit the ground, the police, the sides of the police cars. As the arrows rained down, Stiles felt another magic spike from his father as SHIELD snapped into place, a bright golden glow surrounding the Sheriff.

He jumped down from the tree and ran for his father. “Dad!” he called. Around him, the few police officers left were on the ground, most obviously hurt, and several unconscious. The Sheriff was staring at the shield around him in confusion, shock. 

The Sheriff turned at his call, expression dropping into anger when he caught sight of Stiles. “What are you doing here?” the Sheriff demanded. “You said you’d stay at home!”

Stiles wasn’t listening as he dropped to his knees, looking over his dad quickly for injuries. There didn’t seem to be any; SHIELD had done its job well. He breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at his dad briefly, then turned his full attention to the little Card watching them.

ARROW was a little girl with silver hair and an all blue outfit. Stiles’ arm was longer than the bow she was holding. Her head was tilted to the side as she watched him, considering. Then she jumped back and disappeared into the bush.

Stiles threw his phone at Kero as he hopped to his feet. “Call Yue!” he ordered and gave chase. He pushed through the forest, listening to WOOD’s quiet whispers of direction as the Card tried to keep track of ARROW. However, within a few minutes, ARROW disappeared, even to WOOD’s senses. “Damn it!” he cursed, slowing to a stop. “Yeah, Yue, she’s _tricky_.” He muttered bitterly, then turned on his heel and headed back.

When he arrived, several of the officers were getting back to their feet. His dad was calling in an ‘officer down’ report on his radio. Stiles couldn’t catch sight of Kero, but the little ball of sun energy was resting high up in the trees. Stiles hesitated just behind the tree line, then called JUMP and bounded into the trees. It took him a second to locate the ball of yellow fur. “Hey.” He whispered.

Kero turned to him, expression serious, and held out his phone. “I called Yue.” He informed quietly.

“Thanks.” He took the phone back, jammed it into his pocket.

“Stiles, we need to go.” Kero urged. “More officers are on their way and we do not want to be here when they arrive.”

“But my dad-”

“Stiles.” Kero cut him off. “He wants you home now. He saw everything, Stiles.”

\-----

Stiles paced the living room, ears peeled for the sound of his dad’s car. He’d called Danny, told him things had happened and that they couldn’t go tonight. Danny had sounded confused on the phone, but hadn’t questioned him, probably put off by whatever he could hear in Stiles’ voice. Kero had said the Sheriff hadn’t given much of a clue as to what he was thinking before he’d ordered Kero out of sight. Stiles wasn’t surprised.

It was nearing 9 o’clock by the time he heard the car pull into the driveway. He froze in place, caught between running for his room and running for the front door. He could hear his dad approaching the front door and merely waited, heart in his throat.

“Just a thought.” Yue said from where he was waiting, more patiently than Stiles, on the couch. “We could use ERASE.”

“We’re not playing with my father’s head, Yue.” Stiles snapped, just as the lock turned. 

His father walked in, paused when he saw Stiles waiting. “Stiles.” He said, tone tight. His eyes flickered to Stiles’ left shoulder, where Kero was hovering worriedly and his mouth went tight. Behind him, Stiles heard Yue stand, drawing the Sheriff’s eyes from his brother. The Sheriff sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. “You?” he asked, sounding shocked.

Yue merely inclined his head in greeting.

The Sheriff’s eyes turned back to his son. “Stiles, what the fuck is going on?”

Stiles bit back a wince, because his dad never cursed. Then, biting his lip, he spread his arms wide and said uncertainly. “Well, dad, I’m kind of magic.”

The Sheriff merely stared back for a minute. “I think we should sit down.” He finally replied. Kero was right; the Sheriff was monotone, refusing to give a hint towards his feelings. Stiles gulped and headed for the dining room table.

He refused to sink down into his seat in guilt, instead met his father’s demanding eyes. He could begin with a few months ago, when he met Watanuki, but he wasn’t going to lie; he was still bitter. If he could throw the Pack to the proverbial wolves -heh-, he was going to bring them down with him. “You see, it started when Laura Hale died…” He told his dad everything.

It was a relief, at the end. To have it all out, to know he wouldn’t have to lie anymore, to know his dad wouldn’t have to worry he was falling apart, or worse. Even if his dad was looking at him like he wasn’t sure recognized him.

As he watched, his dad buried his hands in his hair and stared pensively at the table. “You have magic.” He repeated, almost absent-mindedly.

“Yeah.”

“Scott’s a werewolf.”

“Yeah.”

“Your friend” he raised one hand to point at Yue. “who has been coming here every week and eating all our food, isn’t human.”

“Actually the food thing is Kero. Yue doesn’t eat. At all.” The Sheriff raised his head to glare at Stiles, so he quickly nodded. “But otherwise, yeah, that’s right.”

The Sheriff stared back at him then reached across the table. “Let me see your arms.”

Stiles hesitated then stretched, pushing up his shirt sleeve to reveal the scars. The Sheriff stared down at them, looking pained. “What caused this?”

“THUNDER.” Yue replied for him. “Stiles was rash, and was injured. That Card has sense been caught.”

“How badly injured?” the Sheriff demanded.

“Badly.” Yue replied and when the Sheriff finally lifted his gaze from Stiles’ arm to glare at Yue, the Moon Guardian elaborated. “One the first attempt, Stiles broke several ribs, was concussed, and stopped breathing for two minutes. All injuries were healed.”

The Sheriff had gone white during the report. Stiles thought his dad might have been the one to stop breathing this time. “Dad?” he asked hesitantly.

“No.” The Sheriff finally managed, shaking his head. “You can’t… you can’t do this. It’s too dangerous.” He said.

“Dad, I have to. I started this; it’s my responsibility.” He said, as gently as he could.

“You’re just a kid!” his dad hissed desperately. “You’re not strong enough.” 

The world stopped. Behind Stiles, Yue closed his eyes and shook his head. 

Stiles pulled his arm away slowly and readjusted his sleeve, his heart a lead weight in his stomach. He’d known that was coming, thought he’d been prepared for the blow. He hadn’t been. “Don’t worry. I’m quite aware of that part.” He told his father blandly and stood.

“Stiles!” his dad shouted.

Stiles ignored him, pulled out his phone. Shot a quick text off to Danny: /Change of plans. Meet at park asap./ “I have to go.” He muttered, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “Come on Yue, Kero.”

“Stiles, that thing has nearly killed seven people!” his dad shouted.

“That’s why I have to go.” 

“Stiles, please don’t.”

He left quickly. 

He didn’t notice Yue linger for just a few seconds. “You can’t be expected to know, so I’m going to tell you.” He told the Sheriff in a gentle tone. “Phrases like ‘you’re not strong enough’ are exactly why he’s doing this. Saying that to him, it’s only going to make him shut down.” He bowed respectfully then headed for the door.

“You’ll bring him back, right?” The Sheriff demanded, watching him desperately. 

“Of course.” Yue replied. “That’s my job. You make sure he feels he has a place to come to, because that’s something too many have taken from him.”

The Sheriff’s eyes hardened and he nodded. “Of course.”

Yue bowed again, and took off after his charge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So completely sorry for the wait. Got completely caught up in school and the next thing I knew it had been months since I updated.

**Author's Note:**

> DISCONTINUED  
> I've typed up a basic outline of my plans for this story. Those interested can find it over [here](http://dreamedge.tumblr.com/post/88377592747/since-of-the-woods-is-abandoned-can-you-tell-us-what).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [An exercise in the preserve](https://archiveofourown.org/works/952403) by [alan713ch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alan713ch/pseuds/alan713ch)
  * [Stiles's Magic Circle ("Of the Woods" Fanart)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055487) by [ZionicBunny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZionicBunny/pseuds/ZionicBunny)




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